Secrets
by yume-no-yousei
Summary: James and Sarah have a little surprise for their little French friend. However, things turn around when she arrives on their doorstep. Rated PG for violence. FINISHED! EVERYONE PARTY!
1. Clueless

Hi guys! This is my first fic...so no flames plz! Henri's 11 years old in this, Sarah is 18, and James is 17. I'm very sorry to say that our Ben Franklin has passed away. On with the fic!  
  
chapter 1: A Little Joke Between Friends  
  
"Wake up!"  
  
Henri groaned. Sarah's shrill British voice had startled him. He looked at the sundial on his desk. It was 7:30. "Why did you wake me up so early, Sarah?" he asked groggily. "I thought you knew," she answered through the door. "There's a new reporter for the Gazette, and she's supposed to arrive today, in a couple of hours, actually. I wish that you will be nice to her. You might know her, even," she added with a grin. Henri, with a puzzled look on his face, reluctantly got out of bed and shuffled to his washroom.  
  
"What's wrong, son? You're usually done with your porridge by now!" Moses exclaimed. "Oh, uh, nothing," Henri quickly replied. He sighed. "All right. When I was little, before my parents died, I had this friend. She was my best friend, and we would play together every single day. Then, when I ran away, she promised me she would come to see me as soon as she could. But she never came. I just wish I could see her again." "What was her name?" Sarah inquired. "Oh, what was it again...oh yes! Her name was Cecile." James dropped his spoon with a clatter. "What's wrong with you?" Henri said. "You looked like you just saw a ghost...or a girl!" He chuckled knowingly. James gave him a look, not exactly a what-are-you-talking-about look, but more of a don't-talk-about-it-right-now-with-her-here look. "Well," he said. "Let's go pick up our new recruit!"  
  
About an hour later, James, Sarah, and Henri were on their way to the ship. James and Sarah were laughing uncontrollably, and Henri could not understand why.  
  
On the ship, the new girl was writing in her notebook, a letter to her friend:  
  
Dear Henri,  
By the time you get this letter, you will have realized that I am the new reporter. I'm sorry I haven't written to you very often, but now I won't even have to write to you at all, because I'm here in America! I hope you can read this, because I know you've written to me telling me all about your friends, and learning a new language and how to read. I, too, have learned English, from my teacher.  
I miss you very much, and I hope that your new friends will accept me as part of their country, as I...well...you know already. No need for me to explain it again.  
  
Your true friend forever,  
Cecile, aka La Fille D'amant  
  
end chapter 1  
  
Translation to La Fille D'amant : Lover Girl. You'll see why she writes this in the next chapter. 


	2. Surprise!

A/N Hi people! It's me again. I sure could use a couple of reviews now. I didn't think that that chapter would be so short! Anyways, here's the next chapter (This kinda helps because I've been having this a lot in my dreams, kinda helps to put it on paper, or screen, non?)  
  
Ok. I don't own Liberty's Kids (Ha! I wish) But I do own Cecile. So no touchy! (  
  
Chapter 2  
  
"There she is!"  
  
James cried out with glee as he saw the ship come in. "Henri, would you like to meet a special someone?" "Non," he replied bluntly. "She could only remind me of La Fille D'Amant." "Whom?" "Oh, never mind," he said with tears in his eyes.  
  
"Le Garçon D'Amant!" A voice cried through the sky.  
  
"Huh? Nobody ever called me that. Except for..." His eyes widened and he looked up, his brown eyes rimmed with red. "It can't be!"  
  
A girl of about 11 years old, with jet-black curls and warm brown eyes, ran off of the ship to her friend. She knocked the wind out of him with a powerful hug.  
  
"Cecile??? It can't be you." "Ah, but it is, my friend."  
  
"SURPRISE!!!!!!!!"  
  
"Huh?" Henri had question marks in his eyes as he looked at his friend, who had a wide grin on her face.  
  
Sarah's and James's faces were crimson with laughter, as they stifled it when Cecile hugged Henri.  
  
"Well," Sarah said in between giggles, "Moses and I had decided to do some cleaning around the print shop while you and James were out looking for a story. We came across a letter in your room, from her." Sarah pointed at Cecile. "We read it together and we realized how much she missed you, so we thought, why not have her come to America? So, we wrote to her, saying how much you missed her, and would she like to come to America, and she said YES!" Sarah finished with a smile from ear to ear.  
  
"But what we're wondering," James continued, "is why you call each other La Fille D'amant and Le Garçon D'amant."  
  
"Oh." Cecile turned the same color as Sarah's locks. "Well, Henri's probably already told you that we've been friends for the longest time. So when we turned about 8 years old, before Henri ran away, we decided not to call each other friends anymore. And we called each other La Fille D'amant and Le Garçon D'amant."  
  
Henri finished the explanation. "This means 'Lover Girl' and 'Lover Boy'."  
  
"Love runs in our blood, you know! So who are you anyway? I think I know you. You're Sarah, aren't you?" Cecile said as she curtsied, still a little pink in the face.  
  
Sarah curtsied and said, "Yes, I am. This is James Hiller. He's my friend, and nothing more."  
  
"Well, we'll see about that," Cecile said, and winked at Henri. James bowed and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Cecile. We were happy to bring you to America, and we'd like you to know that you're part of the family now." Cecile couldn't have been happier.  
  
"I miss my family a lot, and I promised them I would write every day," she said, and a single tear ran down her cheek.  
  
"I know how you feel. I'm from England, and I miss my mother terribly." "But, Cecile, I thought---OW!" Henri started to say before she nudged his elbow. "Shhh!" she hissed. "Not now."  
  
She turned to Sarah and James, both of whom were beaming. "I couldn't have done this without either of you," she said. She hugged Sarah with all her might, but when she went to hug James, Henri gave her a look from behind him, like a don't-hug-him-he's-taken look. So she shook hands and smiled at the blonde boy. He kneeled down till he was her height and said, "You've saved us from a boy with a broken heart. Thank you. Now go get him." And he winked at her, and pushed her towards Henri. She turned a bright pink and they walked home together. Eventually Henri's fingers intertwined with Cecile's. She looked up, eyes widened. They both smiled and waited for Sarah and James to go a little further ahead, and then they shared one of the longest hugs they'd ever shared.  
  
James turned round to wait for them to catch up, and noticed the two children hand in hand. She pointed them out to Sarah, who smiled pensively at the two and said, "Leave them be. They're in for the biggest adventure of their lives-----love." A quizzical look on his face, James just followed suit and left them alone for the afternoon.  
  
End chapter 2  
  
You kno da drill: you review, I update. But if u don't review....ill update anyways! 


	3. To Love Or Not To Love

Hey guys! Thanks to sarahfan and Jesus freak16 for the reviews! Once again disclaimer I DO NOT OWN LIBERTY'S KIDS! this disclaimer will self-destruct in 5...4...3...2...1...BOOM! hahaha ok here is chapter 3! There's a little S/J for those of u who LOVE S/J stories. Oh yeah, and the part that starts with "'Cecile, where are you?' Henri asked, wandering down the second floor hall" is going to be part of the episode "American Crisis". And that's it!  
  
Chapter 3  
  
As James was bored the next day, he decided to go out for a walk. Little did he know that he had two spies following him.  
  
"......Sarah!" James exclaimed as he jumped about a foot into the air in surprise. "Oh, hello, James," Sarah said softly. "Just taking a walk around the block?" "Mmhmm. Wanna walk together?" "Sure." Sarah could have sworn she heard some giggling behind her, but when she turned around there was nobody there. They walked for some time before stopping in a grassy field and leaning against a tree.  
  
Meanwhile, those two little spies, who happened to be Cecile and Henri (of course), had nothing to do, so Cecile said, "You want to go for a walk? I heard Sarah and James aren't covering stories and are taking walks, too." "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" They yelled out at the same time, "Go spy on them!"  
  
Back to Sarah and James...  
  
Sarah stood up, bewildered. "There it is again!" James stood up, also bewildered. "What are you talking about? I didn't hear anything." He turned to Sarah and smiled. "I have an idea. Let's look at a couple of things we've written." Sarah's ears turned pink. "Why ever would you want to do that?" "Just let me see what you've written." He grabbed for her notebook. She pulled it out of his reach, and one minute later, James found himself on top of Sarah. He stood up, slightly red, and dusted off his shirt. "Well," he said in voice that was higher than usual, "maybe we should stop." "You're right; that was completely improper." James just grinned, and the next thing Sarah knew, he was on top of her again. Inches from her face, James said, "Okay, that's out of my system." But Sarah wasn't so sure. She couldn't just lose this opportunity to express her true feelings just as he was getting up! She tried to sit up, but instead of getting away from him, her lips touched his for about 3 minutes.  
  
Hiding behind Robert Bell's print shop near the field, Henri and Cecile said, "Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq", then jumped out of their hiding place and started clapping wildly. Cecile put her fingers to lips, but instead of telling Henri to be quiet, she whistled with her fingers. Just as Sarah and James turned to them, Henri yelled, "RUN!" and they were off to the races.  
  
"Cecile, where are you?" Henri asked, wandering down the second floor hall. "I'm right here, in my room," she replied. "I'm bored. Sarah and James are out with George Washington; want to go with them?" "Sure," he replied hastily. "Just remember to run and hide if they see you." He smiled wryly.  
  
A few hours later, they were off to see Sarah and James. Henri left a note that said, "Gone to LA BOTTLE," hoping Moses could read his writing.  
  
When they got there, Cecile gasped and started laughing for some reason Henri could not see. "Henri, they're at it again!" Suddenly, James and Sarah turned and Cecile and Henri ran off in another direction. But instead of running back to Philadelphia, they inadvertently ran into the battle field, where the colonists and the Redcoats were just beginning to fight.  
  
(Little LNN break here? I think not! Probably because I can't play the piccolo OR the violin; that's my mom's department.)  
  
"Fire!" shouted a Redcoat through the clearing. Henri's heart sank. Slowly, but apprehensively, the two children turned around, only to see a British soldier aiming his musket at Cecile! She gestured for him to back off, that she could handle it on her own, but it was too late; the Redcoat had already pulled the trigger.  
  
Henri gasped, his brown eyes wide with shock. He couldn't let his best friend die! But he had an image to uphold! What would George Washington say if he walked onto the field to see his little French friend on top of a girl?!? But he had to save his friend. She meant too much for her to leave him alone in the world. He studied the consequences hard. He didn't have much time. He had about 30 seconds to think before he would lose his best friend for the rest of his life. He started to run as fast as he could. He jumped up....he wasn't going to make it: the bullet was inches away from her head. It was like she was frozen to the ground. He stopped in midair, landed, and took another, farther jump. He made it just in time to push her away, the bullet just missing his head.  
  
Both children out of breath, Cecile's hair tousled, Henri stood up and dusted off his pants. "Get down!" Cecile hissed. "They'll see us!"  
  
"You're welcome," Henri replied with a smile on his face. "But now we have to hide. Let's get in this barrel." "But it's too small." "Just get in! Shhhh! someone's coming!" "Come on!" "Okay, I'm in." Neither of them seemed to realize that Cecile had to sit on Henri so that both of them would be comfortable. Just then they thought they heard a voice. A male voice. An oh- so-Jamesy voice. "Oh, no!" Cecile moaned. "Shhh!"  
  
"Exactly," James was saying, "But why would he do that unless......THAT'S IT! He's got some big plan to turn things around...Yikes!" The barrel was tipping over, they had no control!  
  
"Aaaaaahhhhh!...Ouch!" they both shouted in unison.  
  
"What are you guys doing in there?" Sarah demanded.  
  
"Just paying our dues for a day off," Henri replied automatically. "Good one," Cecile said in his ear.  
  
"Whew! That was a close one, both times!" Cecile said, reclining on the couch in her room upstairs. "Oui, they didn't know what hit them!" Henri said, just before James stormed into Cecile's room.  
  
"Vous pourriez faire avec cogner!" "Er...what did she say?" James asked Henri. "She said 'You could do with knocking!' Personally, I agree with her. You don't know what we were doing!" "No time for being a gentleman now. Did either of you see me and Sarah in that field the other day?" "Er..Well..." "What are you taling about?" Cecile said. "Henri's never showed me any fields in Philadelphia."  
  
"Are you sure?" "Would I lie to you?"  
  
That was tough. Henri told him she was the best liar around, but she never lied to her friends. "All right...if you say you don't know..." And he left to set the type for the Gazette, shutting the door behind him.  
  
"Phew!" "When I said I was a liar, I told you that I am a liar." "That reminds me about that time they caught Nathan Hale." "Oh, yeah! And they caught James, too, and we made up the biggest whopper ever!"  
  
It was a few days ago when the Lobsterbacks caught Nathan Hale. James went after them, and he was caught by the British. "Then we made up this giant lie because Sarah went up to them and told them to let him go?" "Yeah, and then we said that they were getting married!"  
  
flashback  
  
Cecile had gotten a little apprehensive, laughed nervously, and asked to be excused from them all, yanking Henri with her.  
  
"Hey!" "What kind of a lie was that?!" "Please just do this one thing for me!" "Why? What's in it for me?" "I'll use my secret weapon on you!" "Oh. OK. DONE DEAL!"  
  
end flashback  
  
"You never did tell me what your secret weapon was," Cecile said, a smirk on her face. "What is it? All you said was that it would be really bad for me."  
  
Henri got up and made sure the door was closed. "I said it would be bad for you before, because I had to run away first. Now that you're here, and now that we're older, it won't be as bad. Stand up." And Cecile did as she was told. He inched his way toward her. "Henri," she started to say. She was going to continue with, "What are you doing?" but she couldn't; her lips were too preoccupied. She couldn't possibly talk either; Henri was working his secret weapon.  
  
Now Cecile was pretty confused. "That's your secret weapon?"  
  
"Non," Henri said with a grin on his face.  
  
"So what did you do that for?" "I couldn't help it!" "How did you learn to do THAT?" "Sarah," Henri replied simply. "That's not the first time they've done it." And they both broke into fits of giggles. "Are we ever going to tell them what we saw?" "Yes, but maybe..." and he started to whisper in her ear. "Maybe we should speak to them in French. It would be best for them not to understand, especially with Sybil Ludington in town!" "Who?!" "This girl that James visited in New York." "Oh...I get it. So now he has to choose one of them!" "Exactement."  
  
"I'm going to go help Sarah cook dinner; she said we're having stew tonight." Cecile opened the door only to find James with his ear to the door, his journalist notebook in one hand, his quill in the other.  
  
"JAMES!!!!!!"  
  
Guys, just so u know, exactement = exactly.  
also (this one is obvious): "un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq" means "one, two, three, four, five" ;)  
  
Whew! That was THE longest chapter I've ever written. It took me two whole days just to do it!


	4. A Very Merry Christmas or not

Hey guys! I hope you liked that last chapter! Because here's chapter 4! I was working on it in study hall today! Ha!  
  
Chapter 4: A Very Merry Christmas............Or not...  
  
"Did you hear anything we were saying???" "No. Well, yes, but I didn't understand one word. It was all in French!" "Oh." "Right." "So...I'm gonna go for a walk. Just need some alone time."  
  
And Cecile got her coat and went to take a walk.  
  
About 5 minutes after she left, she saw a pile of ashes and something glinting in the sunlight. She retrieved the thing, which was a golden pocket watch. She gasped. When she read the inscription, her eyes started to well with tears.:  
  
"JAMES,  
WE LOVE YOU AND WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS.  
LOVE,  
MOTHER AND FATHER"  
  
"That's so sad!" she thought. "Wait a minute," she said aloud. It's December! It's almost Christmas! I can give it to him then!" She pocketed the watch and went home right away.  
  
"Wake up! Père Noel got us presents!" Henri shouted on December 25. "Huh?" Cecile said groggily. "Presents?! Well, what are you waiting for! I have stuff for you guys too!"  
  
"James, Sarah, Henri, I got you gifts for Christmas. Since it's sort of hard to buy them nowadays, I got things from my own collection. Here, Sarah. Treat it well." She undid the wrapping paper and took off the lid......inside there was a golden ring with embedded diamonds that said "SARAH". Sarah was speechless. "...It's beautiful," she said softly. Henri got golden buttons for his shirt.  
  
"How did you afford all this?" James asked. Cecile shifted uneasily on her feet. "Well...there's something I didn't tell you." She looked like she had just committed a murder. "Um...well...when I was four years old, my parents took me on a fishing trip. And my father caught this really big fish." She was turning pale as a ghost. "And the boat tipped over and..." she wrung her hands. "...They drowned. One of the nearby fishers heard me screaming and saved me from dying. After they died, they left me 900 francs. I spent some of it on your gifts. I already had the ring from a long time ago, so I only spent it on the buttons and the diamonds."  
  
She turned to James. "Here, now, you haven't opened your gift. Go ahead." And she gave him the plainly wrapped box. He read the tag aloud,  
  
"James,  
I hope you like this gift, as I didn't buy it or make it. I found it.  
Merry Christmas,  
Cecile".  
  
James looked up, perplexed. "What???"  
  
"Just open the box and you'll see."  
  
He undid the wrapping, opened the lid and found............a golden pocket watch. "How...?" was all he managed to say. "So where did you get the money for THAT?" Sarah asked triumphantly. "Read the inscription," Cecile suggested, with a small smile on her face. "All right." "James, you have to open the watch, like this." And she opened the watch with the push of a button.  
  
And he began to read aloud:  
  
"JAMES,  
WE LOVE YOU AND WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS.  
LOVE,  
MOTHER AND FATHER."  
  
Tears were now forming in his eyes, and there was no way to hide them. He kneeled down to Cecile's height and whispered in her ear, "Thank you." "But," Henri began, "how did you know that James was an orphan?" There was obviously a lump in his throat, because his accent was thicker.  
  
"Sarah," Cecile said automatically. "She told me that day we were making the stew."  
  
FLASHBACK  
  
"Sarah, why do you keep touching your locket? Is it that important to you?" Cecile asked as she started to cut up vegetables and measure the water for the stew. "There is a long story behind this locket," Sarah replied. And her story went like this:  
  
"I arrived in Boston three years ago under the care of my mother's friend, Benjamin Franklin. She said I was to live there until my father could unite with me, and my mother, my sister Lissie, and my brother Samuel, could all live here in America. "My father gave me a locket before he left for the Ohio River Valley. When I arrived in Boston, a Redcoat came right at me, and grabbed my locket. It was then lost and sunk to the bottom of the harbor. "James, being the 'gentleman' he is, knew how I felt. See, when he was a tiny baby, his house caught on fire during a storm. His parents didn't have a lightning rod. His parents died in the fire, but a nearby neighbor rescued James. His only keepsake was a golden ring that used to be his mother's. "When I saved them from some British 'Tories', he expressed his gratitude by making me a locket that looked exactly like my father's. I couldn't possibly imagine where he got the gold, until I realized that his mother's ring wasn't on his finger. It was the best gift I'd ever received."  
  
"That's so nice of him! Wait till he sees what I've got!" "What was that?" "Oh...it was nothing. You'll see."  
  
END FLASHBACK  
  
"So now you have something to remember your parents by," Cecile concluded, with her smile much wider. "But how did you know where I used to live?" James asked. "Well, that day that I went for a walk, I found a pile of ashes where there was a big square of land. Being the curious person that I am, I inched closer to the ashes. There was something glinting in the sunlight, so I picked it up. And that's how I found the pocket watch!" "I wonder," James began, "why it didn't melt along with everything else." "Probably because your parents' love was concealed in the watch, and love can't melt." "That," Henri said, "and M&Ms!" That got them all laughing James asked Cecile, "What keepsake of your parents do you have? Where is it?"  
  
"It's on Sarah's finger."  
  
"I feel bad because we didn't get anything for Cecile today," Sarah announced at their secret meeting in Henri's room. "Oui, Sarah. You are right," Henri piped up. "Let's go buy her some things, and meet back here in half an hour." "Good plan!" Sarah said.  
  
Half an hour later, each one of them returned with a small bag. "All right, now let's put our gifts on the table and we'll label them and wrap them," James whispered (or, he tried to whisper).  
  
As they went upstairs, they thought they heard some music. "Shh. I think I hear something. Sounds like a flute," Sarah whispered. They tiptoed (or at least tried to tiptoe, you try tiptoeing in shoes like the ones they're wearing) to Cecile's room. With each step, the music got louder and louder.  
  
"Did you teach her how to play like that?" Henri asked Sarah. "No, I didn't. She must have made it up herself," she replied. "It sounds beautiful!" James whispered. He knocked on her door. "Cecile, it's us. Can we come in?" "May we come in," Sarah automatically corrected him. "No time for grammar. We need to give these to her."  
  
"You can come in. I was just practicing this song I wrote. It's not very good, is it?" Cecile said gloomily. "What are you talking about?" Sarah said. "That was the most beautiful song I'd ever heard! What was it?"  
  
"Oh, it's this song I made up. It's called 'Through My Own Eyes". Would you like to hear the whole thing?" "Sure!" "Of course!" "Why not?" So Cecile played "Through My Own Eyes" for them. "Maybe if you added words, it would sound better," James suggested. "But I can't sing and play the flute at the same time," Cecile protested. "Maybe I can sing them for you," Sarah said. "That's a great idea!" Cecile, James, and Henri said in unison. "Let's make up some lyrics."  
  
And this is what they came up with (LK fans: it's the LK theme song!! haha!)  
  
"I see a land, With liberty for all. Yet still I know, The truth will rise and fall.  
  
That's just the way it goes. A word now to the wise: The world was made to change. Each day is a surprise.  
  
I'm looking at life Through my own eyes. Searching for a hero To idolize. Feelin the pain As innocence dies. Looking at life Through my own eyes.  
  
I'm hoping and praying For a brighter day. I listen to my heart And I obey. How can I see it Any other way? I'm looking at life (Looking at life)  
  
Through my own eyes..."  
  
"That was brilliant! Thank you!" Cecile said. "That's not all we came to give you," James continued. And he took out the little basket they made with their gifts.  
  
Cecile had tears of joy in her eyes, and she opened each of the gifts, one by one. Sarah didn't buy anything. She handmade a friendship bracelet and wove in her name clearly: CECILE. James bought Cecile a decorated bowl full of little trinkets. Henri, who knew Cecile better than anyone else, got her a book: Shakespeare's Greatest Works.  
  
"This is amazing! When did you do this?" "Just today. We were talking about it before we came to get you." "How can I ever repay you?" "You did; this morning."  
  
(A/N this next scene is from the episode "Captain Molly" its not completely right. one part im missing. but its close enough.)  
  
"Henri, would you like to come help me collect firewood? Moses says we need some more." "No thanks. I'm going to stay here."  
  
A couple of hours later.........  
  
"Henri, where's Cecile?" "Oh, she went to collect some firewood." "All right. We're short anyway." And they carry on the conversation heard in "Captain Molly":  
  
"English is not even my language," Henri protested. "They say I talk funny and I can't learn to read." "Who says this?" Moses demanded. Henri paused. "Other boys." Moses replied, "Well listen up, Henri. It's a credo I live by: Be what you want to be, not what other people tell you that you can be." "Well, then stop telling me I can be a reader!" Henri said. "What I want to be is...left alone." "You owe it to yourself to hone your reading, writing, and arithmetic," Moses reminded him. "I'm doing just fine without it!" Henri retorted. "Yes," Moses agreed. "You've learned a trade, and a second language. And I'd like to help you keep learning." He threw the last piece of wood into the fire. "Why?" Henri asked softly, a quizzical look on his face. Moses smiled. "For one thing, if you could improve your skills in estimation, we wouldn't be short logs for the fire and we wouldn't both be freezing our toes off." "At least we're not outside," Henri reminded him. "Speaking of which," Moses said, "where's Cecile? The storm's started up already; I would think that she would run home."  
  
They heard a sound of bone on wood. BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG BANG.  
  
"What's the matter?" Sarah asked sleepily. "Yeah. We heard a banging and we woke up. What happened." They shuffled towards the door where the storm was.  
  
"It's a surprise that the thunder and lightning didn't wake you up!" Moses said.  
  
Bang.  
  
bAng.  
  
baNg.  
  
banG.  
  
BAng  
  
BANg  
  
BANG!  
  
"W—wh-what's that?" Henri asked, trembling. "I d-don't know," Sarah said, because she was now more awake than ever. "Maybe it's ghost!" "Maybe it's Father!" "Maybe," James suggested, "you should open the door and find out for yourselves." "I was just about to do that," Moses said. And he opened the door.  
  
"Oh. no!! La fille!!" Henri broke into sobs. "Oh, my goodness!" Moses and Henri looked down at the doorstep with mixed looks of surprise and horror.  
  
"What?" "What's happened?"  
  
The two teenagers shuffled to the door and shared the same look as Henri and Moses.  
  
Thunder crashed and lightning lit up the sky.  
  
Cecile was on the doorstep, lying unconscious with bruises on the cold, hard ground, her dress covered with warm, fresh blood. 


	5. WARNING!

Awwwww! That chapter was so sad! Well, anyways, that was supposed to happen because now it's a horror story! ominous music ;) OK so here's chapter 5. I hope it's not too short.  
  
Chapter 5  
  
"Maybe you should take her upstairs," Moses told James. He turned to Sarah and said, "You might want to get a cold cloth and some bandages. Those wounds aren't going to go away without a little help." Henri followed James, who was carrying the limp girl, upstairs into her room. His eyes were bloodshot, and as soon as James laid her on the bed, they both dropped to their knees and prayed for her to get better.  
  
"Is she......dead?" Henri asked James, his body shaking with fear. "No," Sarah answered softly, walking quietly into the room. "She's still breathing." She pointed to Cecile, and they noticed that her stomach was undulating. The two boys sighed in relief. "I don't know what I would do without her," Henri confessed. "She's not really a best friend to me anymore. She's become more of a sister." "You two go off to bed," Sarah ordered James and Henri. "She needs to rest, and I have to put some bandages on her. We've had enough excitement for one night." The boys bounded off to their washrooms to change.  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
Sarah and Henri both heard James's scream from across the hall. "You stay with Cecile," Henri said to her. "I'll go see what's wrong with James."  
  
He walked into James's washroom. James was still dressed, but his finger was shaking, pointing at the mirror. "Is that all?" Henri started to say, but all that came out was "Is---." James had cut him off. "Did you see it?" he asked. Slowly, Henri turned to the mirror and gasped.  
  
Someone had written in blood on the mirror:  
  
"ENEMIES OF THE CROWN, BEWARE"  
  
Henri was shaking violently when she got back to Cecile's room. He said, "Sarah, someone has written a message on James's mirror in blood. It says 'Enemies of the crown, beware.' What do you suppose it means?" Sarah took a deep breath. "I think it means that all of the Patriots are going to be attacked. This is bad. Maybe one of us is next!"  
  
"Wait a minute. Look! James, come quick!"  
  
Cecile was twitching. She began to moan softly. Everything was coming back into focus. Her eyes opened as slits, and then they completely open. Her tight black curls were disheveled, and there were bruises on her face, arms, and back. She had a long, red cut on her right cheek, and she had a black eye. "Cecile!! Mon dieu, she's all right!" "Whew! We thought we lost you for a second there." Her voice was shallow. "Wh-where am I? Henri, James, Sarah? Is that really you? Je m'ai envie de que j'ai obtenu le succès par un camion." "Cecile, it's going to be ok," James assured her. And Henri added, "I don't think a truck can do that much damage." "We'll get to the bottom of this, I promise you. What happened?" James asked, and Cecile began her explanation as lightning lit up her face. The images were right in front of the four of them, and Cecile voiced over the scene.  
  
"I was picking up some kindling for the fireplace. Moses said we were short on it, and would I like to go get some. He gave me directions to get to and from there, since I don't know my way around here without Henri. Most of the time, he's behind me or in front of me. Then it started to rain." Thunder crashed, more lightning illuminated her face, and she continued.  
  
"When I heard the thunder and lightning, I ran home so I could try to miss some of the storm. But this man with brown hair and blue eyes cut me off. 'What are you doing with so much wood, little girl?' he asked me. I replied, 'Please sir, I'm a chambermaid and I'm delivering firewood to Mr. Thomas Jefferson.' 'Are you?' he asked. 'Well, you're not going ANYWHERE.' And he took out a club and struck me about twenty times with it until I kicked him and ran away. Then he started chasing me and he said, 'Lie down with me or I'll kill you!' My mind was screaming, 'WHAT?!?!' So I just ran faster until he caught up with me and punched me on my back. Then he got a knife and cut my face. We were about 5 minutes away from here, so I screamed, hoping you could hear me."  
  
"Wow," Henri commented. "I heard something, but I ignored it and thought it was the wind." "Keep going," Sarah requested. "Maybe there are some things she didn't tell us."  
  
"Yes, there are," she said. "I finally kicked him off and ran back here. I banged on the door several times, but all of my strength went into getting him away from me, and I fainted. And that's all I remember. I'm so glad one of you found me," she added, as James handed her some chicken broth. "I bet you thought I was a ghost or something," she said, and Henri shifted guiltily in his chair. "I'm happy to have such good friends who care a lot about me. Back in France, nobody liked me. Nobody wanted to be friends with me. I was just Cecile DuMont, the most hated person in France."  
  
"That's horrible!" Sarah said. "So that's what happened today?" "Yes," Cecile replied. "He, what's that word? The one where people attack you if you don't, well, you know." And she turned a little pinker than before. "Oh!" Sarah and James said, and they turned pink, too. "What are you talking about? I don't understand." "Trust me," James said to him, "You don't want to know." "Yes, I do." "No, you don't. It's too advanced for your age." "Oh, tell him," Sarah said. "He's just going to keep bothering us if we don't."  
  
"Ohhhh...all right," James succumbed, and he took Henri into his room. "Henri," James began, "Did you parents ever give you the talk about the birds and the bees?" "The what?!" "This is going to be a long night," James said to himself, and he launched into an explanation about "reproduction". While James was talking, Henri was becoming a little disturbed. By the end of "The Talk", he was speechless. "Now I know why you didn't want to tell me. You're right. I shouldn't have asked. James?" he added as James got up to leave. "Can I ask you a question?" "Sure, what is it?"  
  
"Well," he moved uncomfortably on his bed. "I wanted to ask you what it feels like to be in love." "Oh. Well, why did you ask me?" "Oh, come off it, James. You're a girl magnet!" And Henri started to snicker. "Do you want me to answer the question or not?" "Fine, go ahead." "Well, when you're in love, sometimes you get a hole in your stomach, and your legs feel like jelly. Do you feel like that?"  
  
"Yes," Henri replied. "And those songs at the balls that I used to think were stupid, don't seem so stupid now."  
  
James grinned from ear to ear. "Congratulations, Henri! You are officially in love!!! With whom, may I ask?" "Yes you can ask, but I'm not telling!" And they both ran off to Cecile's room so they could listen to the rest of her story.  
  
"He didn't, did he?" Sarah asked Cecile. "Yes, he did," she said. "But why would a 20-year-old man want to rape an 11-year-old girl?" James mused. "Oh, is that the word for it?" Cecile asked. "Well, yes, he did rape me, and I don't know why. Have you seen anything, well, out of the ordinary while I was unconscious?"  
  
"Yes!" James and Henri shouted. "When you were unconscious, Sarah told us to go to our washrooms, and when I got to mine, I went to my mirror and it had a message that said, 'Enemies of the crown, beware.'" "And then you woke up!" Henri finished. "That _is_ strange," Cecile said. "Was it written in blood?" "Yes, how did you know?" Cecile mustered up the rest of her speaking strength and said, "It's a sign. Someone's attacking the Patriots, and we have to protect ourselves against them."  
  
"Come now," Sarah said. "I'm going to stay with you for the rest of the night. You just rest. James, Henri, go up to bed. You need your rest, too. We might have to print a warning in the Gazette tomorrow morning."  
  
The next day, Cecile woke up at 10:30. "Wow, I'm up late!" she said. "Good morning Sarah. Sarah?" But she wasn't there. "I'm down here, Cecile! I'm writing up the warning. Can you go wake up James?" "No problem," she shouted down the flight of stairs. "He's still awake, too?" "I suppose. Now could you wake him up?" "Sure!" And she bounded down the hall and knocked on James's door. "James, it is 10:30 in the morning. Wake up!" But there was no answer. She turned the knob and weakly pushed the door. "James?" He wasn't in his bed.  
  
"Sarah? He's not in his room." "Oh. I think he might be out getting ink." "I'll go look for him," Cecile said, and she went upstairs to wash and dress. "Can I read the warning first so that if the unthinkable happens, then I know how much ink to get?" "Of course." She handed over the paper and Cecile began to read to herself:

"A Warning to All Americans.

Last night, around 6:00 pm, Cecile DuMont was attacked by an unknown man. There were no witnesses, but as she told three of her friends, they began to suspect that the attacker may be a British Loyalist. Then Mr. James Hiller, age 17, receieved a message written in blood on his washroom mirror, reading "Enemies of the crown, beware." Henri LeFebvre, age 11, assures that this is not a practical joke. It is strongly advised that Patriots watch where they are going, for there may be another attack. Heed the words of this article.

Miss DuMont has recovered from her injuries and unconsciousness recently."

"Wow, that's amazing! I don't think I could write anything like that! And you got the information in!" Cecile said. "Why, thank you!" Sarah replied.

"Well, I had better go look for James. Where does he usually get ink?" "Oh, he usually gets it from Robert Bell." "I know where that is. I won't be long! Je vous verrai plus tard!" she called behind her as she set off for the shop.  
  
"James? James? Ja-ames, where are you? You're scaring everyone to death!" Cecile cried as she got to Mr. Bell's print shop. "Excusez-moi, monsieur. Do you know where I can find Mr. James Hiller?" "Oh, James!" Mr. Bell said, and he added, "This may be a bit of a shock for you and your friends." His Scottish accent had become thicker with each word. He took her to the back room, where she saw the worst shock of her life.  
  
"James!"  
  
17-year-old James Hiller was on the floor, covered in ink. His stockings were crimson with dried blood, and his face was bruised. His eyes were open as slits, and he was moaning.  
  
"Cecile, is that you?" "Yes, James. It'll be all right. Give me your hand." Cecile had become much stronger. James held out his hand, and she supported him all the way home.  
  
"Sarah, I found James." She clapped her hand to her mouth. "Tories," James moaned, "It was Tories. They got me in the shop."

* * *

hey guys! here r the translations:

Mon dieu: My God  
Je m'ai envie de que j'ai obtenu le succès par un camion.: I feel like I got hit by a truck.  
Excusez-moi, monsieur: Excuse me, sir.  
Je vous verrai plus tard!: I'll see you later!

I don't really know that much French, but I know some! I got the 2nd one off of www.freetranslation.com lol :)


	6. Unhappy Days

I'm having fun with all these attacks! Thanks to Jesus freak16 for all the great reviews! And here's Chapter 6.  
  
Chapter 6  
  
"It was Tories," James repeated. His voice was now shallower and sicklier than before.  
  
"I'd gone to get the ink like you told me to, Sarah. I was thinking of a warning to write up on the way, so I got out some paper and started to write." He took the leaflet out of his inky black satchel and showed them, and the two read aloud:  
  
"Warning to All Patriots  
  
Last night, Miss Cecile DuMont was attacked on the docks while collecting firewood. She arrived at Benjamin Franklin's print shop unconscious and in critical condition. There were no witnesses but the attacker, whom she described as having brown hair and blue eyes. That same night, a Mr. James Hiller, age 17, received a message on his washroom mirror, reading, 'Enemies of the crown beware'.  
  
Miss DuMont is safe and has recovered nicely."  
  
"That's similar to what I wrote!" exclaimed Sarah. "Talk about déjà vu," Cecile commented, and the girls let James continue his story."  
  
"I'd already gotten the ink from Mr. Bell, but there was a group of about 30 Tories outside the front door, so he showed me out through the back. When I got to the back room, there was already a Tory there was brown hair and blue eyes. He asked me, 'What's a rebel like you doing in a shop like this?' He had a club in his left hand. 'I'm a journalist,' I replied, fearful of what was going to happen to me. 'I was just getting some ink for our printing press.' I took a step backward. 'A journalist, eh?' he echoed, raising his club menacingly. 'Well, do I have a story for you!'  
  
"And he swung the club, aiming at my head.  
  
"I ducked just in time, but he threw the club aside and clenched his fists, ready to attack me manually. There was nowhere to go. It was either get attacked by one Tory or 30. He took a step backwards, and I sighed with relief, thinking he was going to back away. But I was wrong. He grabbed the club that he threw aside and swung at my head again.  
  
"A searing pain went down all the way to the bottom of my spine, and that's all I remember. A few hours later, Cecile came by and found me, and then she helped me all the way back home."  
  
"Sarah," Cecile began, "about that warning...we might have to add that James was attacked. You go finish the warning. I'll take James upstairs and tend to him. He needs his rest." "No," James said in a dry voice. "I'm fine. Just let me write the warning." "No," Cecile said sternly. "You need rest."  
  
She supported him all the way up the stairs and set him on his bed. "I'll be right back; don't move," she said, as she went to get a cold cloth. "Oh, and you might want to change while I'm gone," she added, as he looked down at himself. He cringed. What was he doing covered in printer's ink? He quickly changed from his ink-stained shirt and breeches, and his......blood- stained stockings? How did that happen?  
  
As he pondered for the answer, he felt some thick liquid on his hands as he removed his stocking. There was a long, thin cut on his left leg. But how do you cut a leg without tearing the stocking? His heart sank, and he looked at his left stocking. There was a four-inch tear on the side.  
  
Quickly, he changed into a pair of pajamas. He took out his hair elastic, gave his long blonde tresses a few strokes with his brush, and put the elastic back in.  
  
"Cecile?" he called. "You might want to get a bandage or two while you're getting the cloth."  
  
Cecile had been downstairs getting some water and wringing out a cloth for James. She finished wringing it out and brought it upstairs with her.  
  
"Why do you need bandages? All you got was a few bangs on the head," Cecile inquired him. Carefully, James rolled up his pant leg, showing her the wound, blood trickling down his shin. "Ooh," she said with a quiver. "I see. Just keep the pant leg rolled up. Now, lie down and try to rest. If there's anything you need, it's got to be sleep. You've done enough today." She fluffed his pillows, eased him down on the bed, folded the cloth and put it on his forehead. "Close your eyes. I'll be back before you know it."  
  
"Sarah, where do you keep the bandages? James needs one badly. He found a cut about four inches long on his leg." "Ooh. Well, bandages are in the medicine cabinet in everyone's washroom." Cecile went to her washroom and checked her medicine cabinet, but she couldn't seem to find any bandages. She went to Sarah's washroom and checked the medicine cabinet. No bandages.  
  
Desperately, she checked James's washroom. He couldn't be in there; he was in bed. No bandages there, either. "Now what?" she thought. With a sinking feeling, she went to the end of the hall to Henri's washroom. The door was closed. She knocked. "Henri, are you in there?" No response. She jiggled the handle. It turned. Henri couldn't be in there; he always locked his door.  
  
She pushed the door open and looked into the mirror.........  
  
Sarah had been downstairs, rewriting the warning. Now it had James's dispatch instead of her own, but she had added to it. "Recently, Miss DuMont came home with Mr. Hiller, who is in his room in mild condition. He was attacked by a man with brown hair and brown eyes, and he had a club, as Miss Dumont's attacker was described. The attack was witness by Mr. Robert Bell, a Pennsylvania printer. Unfortunately, he could not identify the attacker." Henri had been reading Common Sense. There was sheer quiet for five split seconds...until a scream popped the balloon of silence.  
  
They followed the screaming until they reached Henri's washroom at the end of the upstairs hall. "Cecile, what are you doing in my washroom?" Henri demanded. "I was looking for some bandages because I couldn't find any in mine or anybody else's. You can come in." They jiggled the handle and turned it. They opened the door and found Cecile on the floor, a shaking finger pointing at his mirror. "Read the mirror! The attacker's come back!" She trembled. Another message had been written with blood, but now it was on Henri's mirror.  
  
"YOU'RE NEXT, REBEL."  
  
"I-I found the bandages, so I guess I'd better go tend to James," Cecile said. She scolded herself for being found in a boy's washroom, but at the same time felt relieved that she had warned him about an attack.  
  
"James? James?"  
  
James had fallen asleep in the time she was gone. Carefully, she lifted his leg, mopped up the blood, and dressed the wound. He looked so helpless.  
  
"Don't worry," she whispered in his ear. "I'll stay here while you're asleep, and I'll be here when you wake up in the morning." At these words, almost as if he had heard her, a smile now played on his lips. He sighed in his sleep and turned onto his back. She held his hand with assurance for 10 minutes before she got up, sat at his desk, and took out some paper, ink, and her quill. She began to write:  
  
Dear Mrs. Adams,  
I enjoyed reading your last letter, and I thank you for your concern. This time, however, I have grave news.  
Do you remember James Hiller? Well, today, I took a walk to get some ink from Mr. Robert Bell, and I found him in the back room half-conscious! He's all right now, asleep in his room, and Sarah has given me full responsibility of him. I am writing to you to tell you to warn as many people as possible. Henri, Sarah, James, and I are getting the feeling that there is a Tory on the loose who is attacking Patriots. I'm begging you, Mrs. Adams, please warn your friends and family. Tell them that there have been some serious attacks.  
Henri has already received a message on his mirror telling him that he is the next victim. I can't imagine what is going to happen with America and this attacker.  
We send our concern.  
Sincerely,  
Cecile  
  
Meanwhile, Sarah was downstairs, but instead of writing Henri's message in the warning, she, too, was writing a letter.  
  
Dearest Mother,  
What is this world coming to? We have found James on the floor of Mr. Robert Bell's print shop, and we have become very scared. Henri has received a message on his washroom mirror, telling him that he is the next victim. Now he won't even come out of his room! I fear that the message is true, Mother, and that he will be attacked. I hope you share our concern for the colonists.  
  
Your loving daughter,  
  
Sarah  
  
"What day is it?" James asked groggily, sitting up in his bed. "What TIME is it?" he said, looking out the window. The sun hadn't even risen yet. He looked at his bedside clock. It was 5:30 in the morning!  
  
"Morning, James," Cecile said, turning around in her chair. Her curls looked shinier than ever, and her soft, brown eyes were sharp with concern. "How are you feeling?"  
  
"Fine, thanks, but why are you still here?" He hadn't heard her after all. "Oh, so you didn't hear me. While you were asleep, I whispered in your ear that I would stay with you, and that I would be here when you woke up. I just wanted to make sure you were all right. Do you want me to stay a little longer, or do you want me to go back to my room?"  
  
"Well," James said. He had liked the fact that someone cared for him. "If you'd like to, you can stay." "I suppose that would be acceptable." She smiled. Suddenly, a horse's neigh startled her. "What's that?" she asked him. "Oh, it's probably my horse, Caesar. He's been feeling dreadful for days." "Would you like me to go check on him?" "Be my guest."  
  
She put on her coat and scurried to the backyard, where Caesar was obviously in pain. He was lying down on his back, apparently trying to push something out of his stomach. "Easy, Caesar, it's me," she said. "Everything will be okay." She touched Caesar's stomach and felt...something kicking. "Oh...my...gosh...Don't worry, Caesar. I can help." She touched Caesar's stomach and pulled hard...  
  
"What's wrong with Caesar?!" James demanded as Cecile came back into his room with a bowl of hot soup. "Is he all right? Will I be able to ride him?"  
  
"Calm down, calm down," Cecile said softly. "You won't be able to ride Caesar for a few months, and _she_ is going to be all right. Come with me." She wrapped him in a blanket and took him to the backyard.  
  
"You don't want to get too close," she warned him. "Horses are extremely overprotective." James's jaw dropped. "Wait...back in my room...why did you call Caesar 'she'? Caesar's a male horse."  
  
Cecile grinned. "Not anymore." And she showed him Caesar's newborn foal.  
  
"Caesar..." James said softly. "You're...you're a mother!"  
  
It had been four months since the death threat had been written on Henri's mirror. It had also been four months since Caesar gave birth. James had recovered the morning of the birth, and he thanked Cecile for her concern, and for taking good care of Caesar. Night had fallen, and James, Sarah and Cecile were outside enjoying the new fallen February snow. They had been riding their horses on the street, James riding a fully-recovered Caesar, Sarah riding her chestnut horse, Blaze, and Cecile was riding Soot, the black thoroughbred Caesar had given birth to.  
  
Henri had decided to stay home, saying that he'd better not risk it. "Oh, come off it," Cecile had said. "Nobody's going to attack you. It's been four months, for goodness' sake." But still, he had refused.  
  
"I'm worried about Henri. I'm going to check on him. Hyah!" Cecile said, and she galloped back to the print shop.  
  
"The door's wide open!"  
  
"Henri?" She called out into the darkness. She picked up a lantern and lit it. Suddenly, she felt someone poke her back. She turned around, ready to strike with the lantern...  
  
"James? Sarah? What are you two doing here? You should be outside, enjoying the snow!" "Well, what's snow without our two best friends?" Sarah asked. "She's right, you know," James said.  
  
"I'll go upstairs and see if he's upstairs," Cecile said, and she climbed the stairs and ran to the end of the hall, where Henri's room was.  
  
"Henri? Are you in here? Henri?"  
  
She gasped and shrieked, "Henri!"  
  
Henri was lying face-down on his bed. His shirt was ripped down the back, and blood was seeping out from a cut the same length as his back. His brown hair was more tousled than ever.  
  
All Cecile could do was laugh. "Ha! This is all a dream! Yeah! It's just a dream! The blood on his back, a ripped shirt, messier hair, IT'S ALL A DREAM!"  
  
_CRUNCH_.  
  
With a sinking feeling, Cecile looked down at her shoes. She took one step backwards.  
  
There, on the floor, was one of the two gold buttons she had given him for Christmas.  
  
And now it was crushed.  
  
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
"Cecile! Cecile! Are you all right? We heard you screaming and ran up as fast as we---.." James stopped in mid sentence.  
  
The two of them found Cecile on her knees, crying. They looked up and looked at Henri in horror.  
  
"Who's that?" Sarah asked. She pointed to a shadowy figure in the corner. "THE CULPRIT'S GETTING AWAY!" James yelled, and Cecile looked up from her melancholy for a minute.  
  
The shadowy figure was opening Henri's window and jumped out!  
  
"Stop him!" Sarah ran down the stairs after the enemy. But Cecile stayed. "Are you sure you don't want to go with Sarah? I can take care of him."  
  
"No," James said firmly. "Sarah took care of you, and you took care of me. Now it's my turn to take full responsibility. Go with Sarah." He put his hands on her shoulders and gave her three wise words: "Be careful, Cecile."  
  
"I will be, James." She gave him one last hug and she was off.  
  
"Stop right there, Tory!" Cecile yelled, but he wouldn't stop. He just kept going faster, and faster, and faster! They chased after him for 10 miles before they gave up all hope. Walking the 10 miles home, both girls breathless, Soot and Blaze neighed and nudged the two girls' backs with their heads. They turned around. "Blaze!" "Soot! How did you get here?" "Where did you come from?" Both Blaze and Soot nickered and winked at their owners. They mounted their horses and galloped what would have been a 9- mile-walk of agony.  
  
"Is everything all right?" Cecile asked James after Sarah narrated the chase for him, leaving out no details. "Yeah. Everything's okay, but I'm afraid Henri's not. He's not breathing. I mopped up the blood and dressed the wound, but nothing is doing him any good." He showed the girls Henri's back, his shirt still ripped.  
  
"Come on, Henri," the two teenagers and the girl said. "You can do it, just make it for tonight!" Cecile started to cry again and held Henri's hand. "Come on, garçon. You can make it! Jacqueline and Joseph don't want to see you now!"  
  
He shuddered, and then moaned softly. "He's-----not----dead!" "Oh, thank goodness!" "Who attacked you, Henri? We have to know immediately! Who was in this room?"  
  
By this time, Henri was fully conscious. "Gilbert was in here with me. He wanted to make sure I was all right, but I had already been attacked by then. He was trying to help me!" "But why did he run away?" "Why else? He was scared and thought you were the real attacker." "But then who attacked you?" "It was a boy, with brown hair and brown eyes. He said that maybe he should attack me instead of a full-grown man."  
  
It took James and Sarah about five minutes to think, but Cecile was staring at him wide-eyed the whole time, shaking her head."  
  
"No, Henri, no! It can't be! This is all a dream!"  
  
_CRUNCH_. She had taken another step forward. With another sinking feeling, she lifted her foot.  
  
There, underneath the sole, was the other golden button she had given him for Christmas. She burst into angry tears.  
  
"But why did you put the golden buttons on the floor? Did you want me to step on them?" "Oui, Cecile. I couldn't stand thinking of the pain you had while being attacked, while helping deliver Soot, and while taking care of James. The pain was even too much for me, much less you. Crushing the buttons was the only way, and when one gives one golden buttons, the one who gives them mush crush them in order to undo the spell."  
  
"Where in the world did you hear that?"  
  
"From you."  
  
"But why, Henri, why?"  
  
"It was the only way."  
  
"But that means that the attacker is still out there."  
  
At these words, James's and Sarah's heads snapped up.  
  
"No, Henri! You wouldn't. You couldn't!"  
  
Henri nodded his head sadly. "Yes, mes amies, you guessed correctly.  
  
"I am the brown haired, brown eyes boy. I attacked myself."

* * *

Harley :) 

that was freaky! you know what to do.


	7. Unexpected

I'm not getting any reviews! I'm getting reeeeeeeeeally angry!!!!!!!! OK guys here's chapter 7!  
  
Chapter 7  
  
"He's delirious!" Sarah shouted. "He has to be!"  
  
"Let's go through the facts," James said. "All right, Who? Henri. What? Supposedly, he attacked himself. When? Just now. Where? In his room. Why?"  
  
"It was the only thing I could do! I thought that if he found me already attacked, he'd leave us all alone."  
  
"Well, you're all right now. Henri, he's going to come back. He's after us all!" Cecile cried.  
  
"Henri, would you like to ride Soot with me?" Cecile asked Henri one morning. "We're all going riding in the field near Bobby Bell's shop. Maybe it'll get your mind off of...you know." "Yeah, I guess we could go riding." "Wait. Maybe we shouldn't go." "Why?" "Blaze isn't doing well. I'm going to check on him. Want to come with?" "Okay. I guess. I'm going to go get him a carrot. Do you want something while I'm there?" "Sure, could you get me an apple if there is one?"  
  
Cecile went to Blaze in their backyard. "Whoa. He looks worse than before!" She hugged Blaze's neck and fingered the long mane. She was sweating and breathing heavily. Her insides quivering with excitement, she touched Blaze's stomach. Something was definitely kicking. "Déjà vu!" she whispered to herself. "HENRI! Don't come outside! Blaze doesn't need a carrot! She needs space!" "What do you mean, she?" he yelled back. "Just listen to me! Tell James that we're not going riding today! We might not be able to go for a few months!" "What about the apple?" "Forget the apple!!!!!! You really don't want to be out here right now!"  
  
Five minutes later, Cecile was still outside, helping Blaze deliver her new foal. "Henri, can you get Sarah in five minutes? Whoa, Blaze. Easy, girl! It'll be all right." Cecile started to pet the top of Blaze's head, and Blaze started to relax. "Shhh...Blaze," she called softly. "It's over. You've got a foal. You're a mother!" And she went inside to wash her hands and bring a long-awaited carrot.  
  
"Sarah," Cecile called softly. "Everyone, I feel really bad that we can't go riding today. But I have a surprise for all of you, particularly Sarah and Henri. James, the two of us got our presents six months ago. You know what I'm talking about," she added, glancing at James's scowl. "If you would come outside to the backyard with me..." And Cecile led the way outside. "You don't want to get too close. Horses are very protective. Sarah, I cured your horse. Henri, if Sarah grants you permission, you have your very own horse." She swept her arm over the scene.  
  
There was Blaze, kneeling on the ground, surrounding her newborn foal. It was chestnut brown, and its beetle-black eyes seemed to fill them all with warmth.  
  
Four months later, Blaze had become less protective, and Henri could finally control the new horse, which he had named Penny after her chestnut color. "Do you want to go riding in the field now?" The vote was unanimous, and the three got ready to ride to the field.  
  
"So, let's look at the facts for these weird attacks," Cecile said. "Both times it's been a man with brown hair and blue eyes. Both times he's had a club and knife, and both times we were alone." "Let's look at all the people with brown hair and blue eyes," Sarah suggested. "Well," James began, "there's Robert Bell, Benedict Arnold, John Adams, and possibly...the Marquis de Lafayette. But they're all Patriots!"  
  
They were all stumped. "Wait a minute," James said. "Where's Henri?" "Oh, no!" Sarah moaned. "He's going to be attacked!" "Sarah, you're forgetting that we're on horses," Cecile reminded her. "The culprit wouldn't ride a horse...I hope."  
  
Lo and behold! They saw a black mare in the background, and a raised weapon glinting in the sunlight!!!  
  
"No! Stop him!"  
  
"YAH!" The three kids galloped away on their horses, hoping they could make it. They gasped.  
  
Henri was lying on the ground unconscious. They were too late. The attacker had beaten them to the punch.  
  
Sarah took command right away. "James, you should probably take Cecile and Henri home. We've all had enough excitement for one day."  
  
Cecile dismounted Soot and picked Henri up off of the ground. Her eyes were already shining with tears. James helped him up and put Henri in front of him. Cecile got back on Soot, clicked her tongue and the two of them were off.  
  
"He doesn't look good."  
  
James and Cecile were surrounding Henri. "Do you think he's going to make it, James?" Her voice was obviously trembling with fear. "I sure hope so. Then again, hope isn't on our side right now." Cecile was breathing heavily. James looked at her. This 11-year-old-girl, whom he had known for a few months, was grieving at his side, and he couldn't do anything. All he could do was rest his hand on her shoulder, his right index and middle finger crossed.  
  
Cecile looked up at the 17-year-old she had come to know as a father (but that would be biologically incorrect). They each held one of Henri's hands. Cecile put her other hand on Henri's chest. There was no pulse. He was gone. He had been attacked too many times.  
  
Cecile looked back up at James and buried her face in his chest. James knew how to react to this. Sarah had done it with him countless times. He hugged her back and assured her that he was in a better place.  
  
"But he was my best friend! He promised that we would always be together!"  
  
"Cecile..."  
  
She looked up from her sorrow.  
  
"Cecile...Don't cry for me. I'll be all right."  
  
It was Henri's spirit.  
  
Silver tears streamed down his transparent cheek. He carefully took her hand and put it on his lifeless face.  
  
"Would you like to see me again, Cecile?"  
  
Cecile was looking wide-eyed at this ghost whom she had once known as her best friend.  
  
"Yes! Yes I would! How can I possibly see you again? You're dead!"  
  
"Just because I'm dead doesn't mean I can't be with you. I shall always be with you." He floated over to Cecile and kissed her on the cheek. James crouched down and put his head on her shoulder.  
  
"I'm going to stay here in the shop forever. That way, I can keep my promise. I'm staying true to my word. We'll always be together."  
  
James looked at the 14-year-old he had semi-adopted and gave him a small smile. "If only Sarah were here..."  
  
Tears were still streaming silently down Cecile's face.  
  
"James," she looked up at him yet again. "You and Sarah have been like a mother and father to me." She ignored the pink patches that were forming on his cheek. She couldn't help herself. She buried her face in his chest again, and he slowly picked her up and hugged her. She wrapped her arm around his neck and hugged him tighter.  
  
"James?"  
  
Sybil Ludington was at the door. The 19-year-old woman sure had grown.  
  
"James, it's me. Sybil."  
  
"You're Sybil Ludington? I read that article about you! You're one of my revolutionary heroes!" Cecile said, and Sybil beamed.  
  
"Well, look here!" she said. "Who do I have the honor of addressing?"  
  
Cecile drew herself up and looked dignified. "My name is Cecile DuMont. It's nice to meet you, Miss Ludington."  
  
"You look troubled, James," she said, and she wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "Is anything wrong?"  
  
Cecile had calmed down by then, but she looked shocked as she pointed to Henri's spirit. The gray mist was whirling around, forming a tornado over his body. The mist sunk into Henri's body, and he jolted awake. He sat bolt upright in bed.  
  
He breathed heavily. "What happened? Is something wrong?"  
  
Cecile was still shocked as the 14-year-old got out of the bed.  
  
"James, can you do me a favor?" "Sure, what is it?" "Pinch me. I think I'm dreaming. Ouch!" "Well, you asked for me to pinch you." "Wait a minute. That hurt."  
  
Henri was alive and well.  
  
"You're not dead!!!" "But we just saw your ghost!" James protested. "Who cares? Henri's alive! Sarah! He's alive!" She tore down the stairs, screaming the good news.  
  
"Looks like you're not so troubled anymore, Mr. Hiller," Sybil said innocently.  
  
"Let's go through this one more time. I'm still confused," Henri said. "We're naming all the victims," James explained, as they sat around the table eating their stew. Moses had moved out of the print shop to find a house. James had taken charge of The Pennsylvania Gazette. He and Sarah were still single (BOOOOO!!!!!), and Henri and Cecile had remained untouched for the past few months. Nobody had attacked them anymore. "Let's see," Sarah said, waving her spoon in her hand. "First, Cecile was attacked outside Ben Franklin's shop. Then James was attacked inside Mr. Bell's print shop. Finally, Henri was attacked in the field near Mr. Bell's shop. It all fits!" she said happily. "It has to be someone who writes for a paper! Let's see. The only person who hasn't been attacked is..." her head jerked up, her piercing green eyes wide with horror.  
  
"Me."  
  
"Well, you've got to look at all of the sides, Sarah," James construed. "You look, talk, and act like a British lady."  
  
"Yes, that may be true. But I am an American at heart. Appearance and language isn't everything."  
  
"Sarah, Sarah, Sarah," Henri said. "You're absolutely right. Just use your appearance to fool the attacker. Or maybe..." and he leaned closer to the table and whispered his plan, completely forgetting about his stew.  
  
"Be careful, Sarah," were the only three words Sarah heard the next day. "I'm coming along, too," said James. "I have to report this incident immediately." "I'm coming so I can catch him myself," Cecile said. "I'm strong," she added. "That's why I'm going too!" Henri stood up and said. "Not because Cecile is going, but because I'm strong."  
  
"Oh, look! It's a Patriot!" James shouted into the streets. "Someone might want to attack her!"  
  
Sure enough, there was the brown haired, blue-eyed culprit.  
  
He was crazy; there was no doubt about that. He was hungry for Patriots.  
  
"No m'lady. You must be mistaken. You're loyal to the crown."  
  
"Aha!" Sarah caught him. "I may look like a loyalist, but I am an American at heart." She snapped her fingers three times.  
  
"That's our cue," Cecile whispered to James and Henri, a piece of rope in her clenched fist.  
  
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!"  
  
The three Patriots ran for their enemy, Cecile holding a rope.  
  
"Stop right there, Tory. If you go anywhere, we shall expose you to all the Patriots and have you hanged." Reluctantly, the man gave in. Cecile, with Henri's help, tied the man's wrists together and bound them behind his back. "Now, tell us who you are!"  
  
"I don't need to tell you. One of you can figure that out on your own."  
  
Sarah was staring at him, wide-eyed. "No, that can't be right. All of them have agreed that I stay here," she mumbled to herself.  
  
"Uh...Sarah? What are you talking about?"  
  
The man bowed.  
  
"It is good to see you again, Cousin Sarah..."

* * *

DUDE!!! MAJORLY FREAKY!!!!!!!!!!!!! 


	8. Having The Talks

So many finals........................sorry I haven't written as often as I have before. I have too many tests this week. AGH! ELA Monday, Latin Tuesday, and Math and Science Wednesday. TOO MUCH!!!! AAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH! And I keep writing Sahar instead of Sarah! Which is weird because that's my name. Oh, well. Anyways, I think I'm going to make this part of the episode "In Praise of Ben". Here's chapter 8. Hope you like it!

* * *

Chapter 8  
  
"What?!?" James and Henri cried at the same time. Cecile turned to Sarah with her eyes widened. "You know this guy?" she said to her.  
  
"Unfortunately, yes," Sarah said, her face emerging from her hands. "He is my cousin. But why did you do it?"  
  
The man looked crazier than before. "Why? WHY? Sarah, dear, look around you! You're surrounded by rebels! What kind of person are you?"  
  
Sarah looked at him in the eye, her face firm with determination. "For your information, I am an American, whether you like it or not."  
  
Cecile looked at her three friends. "I am, too."  
  
Henri stepped forward. "And me, too!"  
  
James smirked. "Well," he said, "According to our new country, majority rules. Not Tories." Sarah's cousin looked both horrified and mortified. "Fine, Sarah. Be the way you want to be. You'll meet the same sticky end as these rebels," he said, casting a dirty look at James, Cecile and Henri.  
  
And he left.  
  
The next day, Sarah decided to take a walk around town, looking at the world surrounding her. She took several deep breaths before she headed back to the print shop. She burst into the shop, placing her fingers on Dr. Franklin's glass armonica, and she started to play the song that Cecile made up. Suddenly, she heard a clarinet playing behind her. She stopped playing, and so did the clarinet. She started to play again. The clarinet played on behind her.  
  
"Caught you!" she said, turning around when she stopped and the clarinet didn't.  
  
James smiled. "I guess you didn't know I could play, huh?"  
  
"Apparently not. Do you play professionally?" James scuffed his heels on the floor. "Not exactly," he said. "But Cecile let me borrow her sheet music and I've been trying to play ever since. I was practicing up in my room and I heard you playing the armonica. So I thought, _What would Sarah say if I surprised her with my training_?"  
  
Sarah was awestruck. "You did that for me?" she asked him. He nodded, but his fingers were drumming on the clarinet. He brought it back up to his lips. "Shall we?" he asked. "All right, I guess we can play together," she responded. But as soon as her fingers touched the glass, she heard a scream. Then she heard a muffled voice say, "That's it!" Another voice was saying, "Hey! Stop it! Ow!"  
  
The two teens automatically stopped what they were doing and thrust the shop door open. The next thing they saw was unbelievable.  
  
Henri pinned a Tory boy to the ground. Cecile was standing in the background, her hands behind her back. She saw Sarah and James and ran to them.  
  
"Stop it! Both of you!" Sarah said.  
  
Cecile ran over to Henri and said, "Henri, please stop fighting before I have to use your secret weapon on you!"  
  
"You wouldn't dare!" Henri hissed. "Oh, no?" she said. She pulled him off of the ground, pinned him against the print shop wall, and kissed him. She broke off breathing heavily. Apparently, Henri was still annoyed with the Tory boy and started to fight him again.  
  
"I've had it with this fighting! Why can't we all just get along?" Cecile said, and ran into the shop crying.  
  
James was so frustrated with the day that he hauled Henri off of the ground and pulled him into the print shop.  
  
"What did you do that for? I almost had him!" Henri complained. Sarah took him into the room with the armonica, and James sprinted upstairs. He knocked on Cecile's door.  
  
"Go away!"  
  
"Cecile, it's me. Would you like to talk?"  
  
He heard footsteps and the knob turned. Cecile opened her door, the white part of her eyes covered with a forest of red trees. Her light blue dress was wet with tears, and so was her pillow. "Oh, sure. You can come in. I guess I just need to talk. That's what my parents always told me to do when I felt sad or uncomfortable." Her eyes became two pools of tears.  
  
"What happened back there?" he asked her, sitting on the foot of her four- poster while she sat at the head. "Well," she began, "Henri and I wanted to stay away from Sarah's cousin, because he's crazy, you know? So we took a walk, and we found this Tory boy who said his name was Charles or something like that. The three of us started talking and then he asked us what nationality we were. We told him we were French and then he said, 'French people are so spineless. They don't know anything. And the girls there are so stupid!' A surge of anger went through me and I clenched my fist. I wasn't really having a good day. Then Henri said, 'Take that back, or else!' Charles wouldn't take it back and then he started saying really mean things about girls and French people. Henri and I couldn't take it anymore. He squeezed my hand and said 'That's it!' and he pinned Charles to the ground. James, I can't take it anymore. I want to go home."  
  
James stared at her, his face paler than usual. "You can't go home!" he shouted. "It's not going to make much of a difference. The battle's everywhere. So let's think this whole situation through." He leaned forward a little. "Why do you think Henri fought Charles?" He handed her a tissue.  
  
"Thanks," she said, wiping her eyes. They weren't as bad as before. "Well, I don't know. Maybe he did it because Charles was making him angry."  
  
"Do you remember anything else Charles said?" James gently pressed.  
  
Cecile thought for a while and exhaled. "He was saying a lot of mean things about me," she finally said.  
  
"So can you think of another reason that Henri fought Charles?" James asked her again.  
  
She thought for a little while more. Her head snapped up.  
  
"He did it to defend _me_."  
  
"But there's one thing I'm still confused about," James said, and he saw that Cecile had reddened and started to stare at the ground. "If you don't want to talk about it, that's all right," he added quickly. She sighed and brought her head up. "No," she said, "It's ok. You can talk about it." "Are you sure?" he asked her seriously. "Something like that isn't something to joke about."  
  
Her face had turned back to its normal peach tone. "Yes," she said firmly. "I'm sure. But you have to promise not to tell anyone. Not Henri, not Moses, not even Sarah."  
  
"I promise."  
  
"Cross your heart and hope to die, stick a needle in your eye?"  
  
James winced, but he knew he had to do it. "Yes," he said firmly, and he tossed his quill and notebook aside. "I promise."  
  
"Well," she said, "If you tossed your notebook and quill...I guess it's all right to talk about it. But it is a little embarrassing," and she giggled.  
  
"What are you talking about?" James eyed her suspiciously.  
  
"Oh, well of course you wouldn't know," she said. "Well, I guess now's a good a time as any to tell you." She sighed. "When we were at Washington's camp, Henri told you that we were in that barrel because we were paying our dues for a day off." She took a deep breath and went on. "That's not entirely true. We were hiding from some Redcoats. The two of us were taking a walk and we saw you and Sarah. We saw you and ran off, but we inadvertently ran onto a battle field and Henri saved me from getting a musket ball in my head." She smiled a little. "We saw you again a few days before that, but we swore to each other that we wouldn't tell a single soul what we saw that day." And she pulled out a piece of parchment, and James read aloud:  
  
"With God as my witness, I solemnly promise not to tell any person of the embarrassing situations which we saw these past five days. The only person or persons we shall tell are the people acting in the situation."  
  
Scrawled underneath that was:  
  
"Henri Richard Maurice Dutoit LeFebvre"  
  
Underneath that was a loopy signature that read:  
  
"Cecile Marie DuMont"  
  
It was James's turn to be awestruck. "You did that for us?" he said. Cecile nodded and gave him another small smile. "That's what friends are for," she replied, and James couldn't help but grin. 

"Thanks for talking about your problems to me," he said. "Yeah," Cecile agreed. "I'm sorry that I didn't trust you and told you to go away." "That's okay. I can understand why you told me to leave."

"James?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks," Cecile said after 5 seconds. She stood up and brushed the tears off of her dress. Then she reached up to give him a hug. "You know, you really are like a father to me," she confessed. "Even if you are embarrassed about me saying that Sarah is like my mother."

"What?!" James said. "I'm not embarrassed!"

"Oh, le détache, James. C'est évident que vous aimez Sarah. Juste aller la dire maintenant ! Si ne vous faites pas, alors je la dirai. Et, à propos, comment savez-vous Sybil ? Vous l'aimez aussi ? Pourquoi aimez-vous deux filles tout de suite, James ? Rester avec Sarah. Vous avez su son plus long. Dire son aujourd'hui, James, avant que ce soit trop tard," Cecile retorted in spit-fire French.

"Huh?" James said, confused.

"James, je suis désolé pour avoir à vous parler en français, mais Henri et j'ai consenti que ce serait meilleur si vous n'avez pas compris que j'ai juste vous a dit. Voici quelque conseil. Allons en bas maintenant et vous allez dites Sarah exactement comment vous vous sentez d'elle. Je sais que vous couchiez quand elle est revenu de l'Angleterre. Me fier. Je sais ces choses. Vous vraiment ne riiez pas nerveusement juste comme cela. Vous essayiez de cacher quelque chose. Ne pas nier la vérité, James. Ce sera dur à avouer, mais je sais que vous pouvez le faire," she spoke again.

James was still flummoxed.

"¿Por qué habla usted con mí en un idioma que yo no entiendo? ¡Afortunadamente puedo hablar español! ¡Hay un idioma que puedo hablar, y usted puede no! ¡Ah! ¡Estoy tan orgulloso de yo mismo! ¡Y, para su información, no hay nada entre yo mismo y Sarah!" he roared back.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Cecile said."¡Ah ah! Lo siento de decir usted que puedo hablar español. ¡Y entendí todos y cada uno de los palabras usted dijo! ¡Usted adora Sarah! ¡Usted no lo puede negar! ¡Vaya abajo y diga ella antes yo hago lo para usted!"

He gasped. _She can speak Spanish as well?  
  
_"Sí, James, yo puedo hablar español," she said quietly.  
  
"I'm really sorry that I had to do that, James. So how's the clarinet going?" she said to make conversation. "Pretty good, I guess. Sarah just found out that I play."  
  
"How'd she do that?"  
  
"When she came back from going into town, she went into Ben's office and started to play his armonica." Cecile looked puzzled. "What's an armonica?" she asked. "Come with me," he said, and they went down the stairs. James was carrying his clarinet, Cecile was carrying her flute.  
  
"So, like I said, Sarah was playing the armonica. She didn't hear me sneak into the room, and I started playing the clarinet behind her. She didn't know it was me until she turned around!" Cecile laughed to herself. "Where are we going?" she asked him. "We're going to the place that'll answer your question. We're going to Ben Franklin's office," James said, his blue eyes shining with excitement.  
  
They finally reached the bottom of the stairs and arrived at the oak door that led to the wonders that are more formally known as Benjamin Franklin's inventions. "Where are we?" Cecile asked. "You'll see soon enough," James answered her, and he knocked on the door three times.  
  
"Come in," Sarah's voice said through the door. Cecile's shaking fingers touched the doorknob and turned it. Sarah's flaming red hair was the first thing she saw. She became shy but amazed when she entered the room. She stayed as close to Sarah as possible.  
  
Cecile was no longer the adventurous little girl she once was.  
  
"Hi," she said as she moved away from the scene.  
  
"Hello," Sarah and Henri said. "Are you feeling better?" Sarah asked.  
  
"Yes, much," Cecile said, and she smiled shyly. Henri bit his lip and he smiled shyly, too.  
  
"I hope you didn't take you-know-what the wrong way," she mouthed to him.  
  
"What?" he said. Cecile walked over to him and whispered in his ear what she had tried to mouth to him.  
  
"Oh, no," he said and went a little pink. "You had to do what you had to do. Unfortunately, the weapon didn't work...this time." The two children smiled and Cecile apologized for what she had done. "It wasn't really nice, but I had to do something to calm you down," she finished.  
  
"What do you mean?" Sarah asked them.  
  
"Oh, nothing," Henri said, and to Cecile he said, "Thank goodness she didn't see it." "Yeah," Cecile acquiesced, "But James did."  
  
James took a step backward and laughed nervously. "I'll just go," he said, and headed for the door. "No," Sarah said, "Stay a while, James. You've been upstairs for a long time." She put her fingers on the glass bowl. It hummed softly.  
  
"How did you do that?" Cecile asked. "And what is it?"  
  
"That," James said, "is the answer to your question. That is an armonica."  
  
"It's one of Ben Franklin's inventions," Sarah explained. "See how the glass bowls turn when I move the crank?"  
  
Cecile looked at Sarah's foot, pushing the pedal which was making the bowls move.  
  
"Now watch," Sarah said, as she put her finger on the edge of a glass bowl. The bow hummed a note. She began to play "Through My Own Eyes", and James joined in with his own instrument. Cecile came in later on, while Sarah was singing, "I'm hoping and praying for a brighter day, I listen to my heart and I obey. How can I see it any other way? I'm looking at life...through my own eyes..." And Cecile finished off the song with her flute finale. Henri applauded all three of them.  
  
"Um...Sarah? James? We kind of have something to say to you," Cecile said, holding her flute apprehensively. "Don't we, Henri?" And she nudged him in the arm with her elbow.  
  
"Oh! Right!" Henri said. "Yes, we have something to say." The both counted to three and then Cecile said, "We wanted to apologize for spying on you. We didn't really mean to, but when we were taking our walks we just saw you and we thought that it was really nice."  
  
"Oui," Henri agreed. "We even made a contract saying that we wouldn't tell anyone what we saw." He took out his copy of the contract out of his pocket and showed it to Sarah and James.  
  
"We're really, really, REALLY sorry about what we did and we swear that we'll never do it again."  
  
"Are you angry with us?" Henri asked shyly, and Cecile was staring at her feet looking more embarrassed than ever.  
  
"Well," Sarah and James said together.  
  
"If you didn't tell anyone," Sarah said. "And if you swear you won't do it again," James continued.  
  
"Yes, we both forgive you," they said at the same time.  
  
The two children sighed with relief.  
  
"Henri, can I ask you something?" Cecile said abruptly. "Why did you fight with Charles?"   
  
"Oh," Henri said. "That. Um...will the three of you promise not to tell anyone?"  
  
"Yeah! You can trust us!" the three of them said.  
  
"Well..." he wrung his hands. "I did it to defend Cecile. Charles was saying really mean things about her and I could see that he was hurting her feelings."  
  
Cecile's head whipped around to look at James.  
  
"You...you really were right after all!" she said to him. She twisted one of her sleek curls and let it go. "Boing!" James, Sarah and Henri said. "What was that for?" Cecile asked them.  
  
"We always think that whenever you play with your hair," Sarah construed. "And we decided to speak what we were thinking, that's all."  
  
"It sounds funny!" she said. "And thanks for showing me what an armonica is."  
  
"You guys, I have a confession to make, too," James mumbled. "Oh?" Cecile said. "What is it, then? Go on. We won't laugh." James looked nervously at Sarah. She gave a look that said, "You can do it. Just take a deep breath and say what's on your mind."  
  
James took a deep breath.  
  
"I can't do this," he said, and he ran out of the room.

Cecile turned to Henri. "Henri, je lui ai parlé quand nous étions en haut. Il n'a pas eu un indice que j'ai dit. Il m'a répliqué dans espagnol, donc je devais parler dans espagnol s'il pourrait me comprendre entièrement. Maintenant vous devez aller le discours à Sarah. Le faire maintenant, pendant qu'elle est toujours ici. J'aurai raison à côté de vous.

"Aller sur, vous pouvez le faire."

Henri took a deep breath and walked up to Sarah. "Sarah? Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure." She turned away from the armonica and looked at him. "What's on your mind?"

"Well," he started. "Sarah, c'est évident que vous aimez James. Si je suis correct, il était juste essayant de vous dire qu'il vous a aimé ! Cecile m'a donné la confiance pleine pour vous parler en français et pas anglais.

"Le regarde, Sarah. Il n'est pas effrayé, il nerveux et il ne peut pas sembler dire que vous quel est sur son esprit. Nous faire une faveur. Le faire une faveur. Aller sur et avouer pour que c'est beaucoup plus facile pour lui." Cecile was nodding vigorously at his side, to help boost his confidence.

_I wonder what he's saying_, she thought. _Uh-oh. He said James's name. He knows. They both know!_

"If you really have something to say, you might as well just say it in plain English," she said.

"Je suis désolé, Sarah. Je ne peux pas faire cela. Nous avons les deux juré de parler dans une langue autrement que l'anglais. Malheureusement, Cecile a trouvé une échappatoire et a commencé à parler espagnol, et James a compris chaque mot seul." He gave Cecile a look and continued. "Sarah, ceci est pour votre propre bon. Si vous avez entendu le couple premièrement de mots, vous seriez probablement de disant déjà James la vérité. Ne pas le nier, Sarah. Juste le dire. Il fera des choses un améliorer de lot entier pour vous et pour lui."

* * *

Guys I'm sry there are so many translations, but I liked to do this idea!!!!! 

Here are the translations of what Cecile says:

1) Oh, come off it, James. It's obvious that you love Sarah. Just go tell her now! If you don't, then I'll tell her. And, by the way, how do you know Sybil? Do you love her as well? Why do you love two girls at once, James? Stay with Sarah. You've known her longer. Tell her today, James, before it's too late.

2) James, I'm sorry to have to speak to you in French, but Henri and I agreed that it would be best if you didn't understand what I have just told you. Here is some advice. Let's go downstairs right now and you go tell Sarah exactly how you feel about her. I know you were lying when she came back from England. Trust me. I know these things. You really weren't laughing nervously just like that. You were trying to hide something. Don't deny the truth, James. It'll be hard to confess, but I know you can do it.

Then James says:

Why are you speaking to me in a language I don't understand? Fortunately I can speak Spanish! There is a language that I can speak, and you can't! Ha! I'm so proud of myself! And, for your information, there's nothing between myself and Sarah!

Then Cecile says:

1) Ha ha! I'm sorry to tell you that I can speak Spanish. And I understood every single word you said! You do love Sarah! You can't deny it! Go downstairs and tell her before I do it for you!

2) Yes, James, I can speak Spanish.

When she talks to Henri, she says:

Henri, I talked to him when we were upstairs. He didn't have a clue what I said. He talked back to me in Spanish, so I had to speak in Spanish so he could fully understand me. Now you have to go talk to Sarah. Do it now, while she's still here. I'll be right next to you.

Go on, you can do it.

Then Henri says:

1) Sarah, it's obvious that you love James. If I am correct, he was just trying to tell you that he loved you! Cecile has given me full confidence to talk to you in French and not English.

Look at him, Sarah. He's not scared, he nervous and he can't seem to tell you what's on his mind. Do us a favor. Do him a favor. Go on and confess so that it's much easier for him.

2)I'm sorry, Sarah. I can't do that. We have both sworn to speak in a language other than English. Unfortunately, Cecile found a loophole and started to speak Spanish, and James understood every single word. Sarah,this is for your own good. If you heard the first couple of words, you'd probably be off already telling James the truth. Don't deny it, Sarah. Just tell him. It'll make things a whole lot better for yourself and for him.


	9. The Biggest Adventure of Their Lives

Too many translations!!! Oh, well. Here's chapter 9. Takes place during the episode "The Great Galvez." R & R because I think this chap is really good!!!  
  
Chapter 9  
  
"Sarah!!!"  
  
"Oh, all right already! I can't take it anymore!!!" Sarah groaned exasperatedly and thrust the door open. Henri and Cecile followed her and stayed behind the door. Sarah strode over to the blond boy sitting in the corner, writing away as he always does.  
  
"What are you writing?"  
  
James quickly flipped the paper over and looked up at the English girl whom he had known for three years. "Nothing," he said. "Why do you ask?" He was eyeing her suspiciously, his blue eyes soft with wonder. "Oh, there's no reason. Just wanted to know if you had a story for the Gazette," she replied simply.  
  
"So..." Sarah said. "So," James said. "I really made a fool of myself back there." "I wouldn't agree entirely with that," Sarah said seriously, but there was a huge smile on her face. "Don't lie to me," James retorted. "I looked like an idiot!" "Well," Sarah said, "Maybe a little. Not completely, though," she added quickly as his face fell.  
  
"What were you trying to say back in the office?" Sarah questioned him. "Oh, that," James replied uncomfortably. "If you don't want to talk about it, that's perfectly fine," Sarah said hastily. "No, that's ok. It wasn't really important," he said.  
  
"Oh. Well, I had to tell you something, too, but I can see that you're busy. I can tell you some other time."  
  
"No!" Cecile and Henri hissed.  
  
"Nah, that's all right. If you have something to say, you might as well say it," James answered gloomily.  
  
"Yes!" Cecile and Henri whispered.  
  
"So, um, maybe I should say what I have to say, too," James said, and scuffed his heels. He looked at Cecile with his pale blue eyes. "Ahora?" he asked. "Ahora! Ahora!" she said. She gave him thumbs-up sign.  
  
He took a couple of deep breaths. Cecile looked at him, then Sarah, then Henri, then back to James. "Come on!" she murmured. She grabbed Henri's hand and pulled it toward her other hand.  
  
"Sarah...it's like this. I guess I had more feelings for my friend than I thought. When I met her, I guess I got more than I bargained for," he finally confessed.  
  
"I see. And who is your friend? Please tell me," Sarah said. "Promise you won't laugh?" James asked. "James, I'm your best friend. You can trust me." Sarah said. "My lips are sealed."  
  
"Okay," he said. "The friend is..." he took a deep breath. "It's you."  
  
Sarah's soft green eyes were now wide with shock. "Really?" she asked, and James nodded. "Well, I'm all set for the day. Now we just have to wait for Sarah," Cecile whispered.  
  
"So...maybe I should tell you what I was going to say. My situation is exactly the same as yours."  
  
"So who's the friend?" James asked her solemnly. "Well it's..." and she said something he couldn't really hear. "What was that again?" he asked. "I didn't really hear you."  
  
"You think she's gonna do it?" Cecile asked Henri apprehensively. "There's only one way to find out," he answered her. He crossed his fingers and squeezed her hand tightly. Sarah looked up at him and he gave her the thumbs up sign.  
  
After a moment she finally spoke. "It's you," she said quietly.  
  
Henri and Cecile jumped up and down and cheered.  
  
"They did it! We did it! You did it!!!" They ran to Sarah and James. "James! I've got another surprise for you!!!" Cecile shouted with happiness. "We've got ourselves a story! Lieutenant Cross wants us to come to Louisville! That way we can go to Mobile so we can see Governor Galvez! Isn't that great?!"  
  
James could hardly contain himself. "Are you joking?!" he shouted. "No! I've got the letter right here!" she said, rather screamed. She waved it around until James grabbed it so he could read it.  
  
"To Mr. James Hiller,  
We have heard of your occupation as a journalist and would be honoured if you could come to Louisville to write a story for the Pennsylvania Gazette. We have already given notice to Bernardo de Galvez and he, too, would be honoured if you came.  
  
Sincerely,  
Lieutenant Cross"  
  
He looked up from the parchment. "Well?" he asked. "What do you think? Should we go?" Henri and Cecile both said, "Definitely." But for some reason, Sarah didn't want to go. "Someone has to watch over the shop," she reminded them, and they reluctantly agreed.  
  
The next day the three kids were all set Louisville. They took their horses in the journey and were off.  
  
After two weeks, they were finally there. They were greeted by the Lieutenant himself and were taken to Colonel Clark. "Now what?" Cecile asked after a little. "We have to get some arms and weaponry from Galvez." "But you have weapons," James said. "Not enough, James. Never enough," Cross said. "We need more money as well," Clark added. "Don't you have...?" Cecile started to say, but Clark cut her off. "This?" he said as he walked over to the fire. "This is nothing," he finished as he dropped their last bit of money into the fire. "Counterfeit," Cross said. "The British print them by the ton." "Which is why Cross is going to Galvez," Clark explained. "He has powder." "He has arms," Cross continued. "He has money!" James and Cecile finished.  
  
Cecile and James found spots on a log to sit and write. James started to write his article, while Cecile started to write a letter to Sarah. Suddenly, she turned around and found Henri chasing a squirrel. "Look out!" she shouted, and pulled James off of the log just as Henri tripped over it. "Are you both all right?" she asked, helping the two boys get up. "Yeah, thanks for that," James replied as he dusted off his coat. "Now, where did that squirrel go?" Henri said, as he ran off to chase it again.  
  
"It feels odd to be out of uniform," Lieutenant Cross confessed as he, James, and Cecile strolled over to Colonel Clark. Lieutenant Cross, who was dressed like a Native American, was stretching out his shirt. "Better to feel odd than to be caught by the British," Clark reminded him, and James and Cecile smiled and folded their arms.  
  
Clark gave Cross some paper. "Here's the list of requirements. Give it to Galvez, and Galvez only," he commanded. "And guard it well. It's in plain English." The three of them gasped, and Cecile asked, "Why?" "No time to put it in code," Clark replied simply. "Wait a minute," Cross said. "Where's Henri?" "He's probably playing around in the woods," James responded, puzzled.  
  
"Henri..." James called. "Come on! They're waitin for us!" Cecile shouted. The bushes rustled. "Henri?" Cecile said. The bushes rustled again. Henri's head popped out of the bush. "You guys will never guess what I found!" He raised his right hand. Something was dangling from its bushy black tail. Cecile and James gasped and clapped their hands to their mouths.  
  
Dangling from the black tail was a very angry skunk. Henri was the only one who sat with it on the boat, but when they reached land it eventually got away. "Leave it alone," James advised. "We can't afford to give you a bath in this river."  
  
What seemed like a year later, Cecile woke up from a short cat nap. She brushed off her dress and walked out of her tent to the river where she found James skipping rocks.  
  
"How do you do that?" he asked "Whenever I try it..." she picked up a rock and threw it. "...it just sinks to the bottom. Can you teach me?"  
  
"Sure," James answered her, smiling. "What you want to do is first get a flat rock." Cecile bent down and picked up a flat stone the same color as her locks. Instead, however, of the usual curls, she had wet her hair before they left, braided it, and left it in braids for the travel. Her first night in the tent, she unbraided her hair to make it crimped. She then pulled some of it back into a ponytail, like Sybil Ludington does.  
  
"So then what?" she asked, her brown eyes glistening with interest. "Which is your good throwing arm?" he asked her. "My right arm. Why?" "That's important because you put your rock into the hand of your good throwing arm, so you would put your rock in your right hand. Then, wrap your right thumb and middle finger around the edge of the rock." She did so, and her next command was: "Then just throw it!" "Go on, you can do it," he gently pressed. Cecile took a deep breath and threw the rock like any other. Her waist twisted and her insides churned with excitement as she waited to see if her trick worked. The rock was in midair for a few seconds. It landed in the water with a splash and flew into the air again.  
  
"Yes!" she shouted. "I can't believe I did it!" Her hair whipped her back as she jumped up and down.  
  
After a few moments of glee, she finally calmed down and found Henri sitting on the bank behind her. "How many days have we been on this river?" he moaned. "I dunno," Cecile admitted as she skipped a rock. "Twenty, I guess. I kinda lost count after a while," James said as he, too, skipped a rock.  
  
"I hate it here," Henri groaned. "The rocks are uncomfortable and the food is terrible!" "But, the land, Henri," James reminded him. "Isn't it beautiful?" "Yes," Henri agreed. "But there's way too much of it." Cecile and James laughed and skipped a couple of rocks. Henri tried, too, but his just fell into the water with a splash.  
  
"Tonight's going to be the roughest," Lieutenant Cross said as he came up behind them. "Why?" Cecile asked. "Are we sleeping on rocks again?" Henri asked "No," Cross said as he skipped a rock. "But tonight, there's no moon. So we move." "Is that safe?" James asked. "Would you rather get caught by the British passing Chickasaw Bluffs in broad daylight?" Cross asked. Behind him a man extinguished their campfire and they watched the smoke rise up.  
  
A few minutes later, they all piled into the boat and were off. They saw the British camps but no troops. "Good," James explained. "Then they can't see us." A Redcoat sneezed. "All this just to meet the Great Galvez?" Henri asked. "Stay down!" James and Cecile hissed and pushed him down. No sooner did they push him down than the boat bumped into a submerged log with a crash. "Back us up!" he whispered to his crew. "Don't let the current turn us!" "I want to help, too!" whispered Henri. He ran up to the front of the boat. The log bumped into the boat with another crash. The boat rocked, and Henri fell out, into the frigid water.  
  
"Henri!" James said. Cecile clapped her hand to her mouth. "I'll go after him," she declared. She got up and shifted to the other side of the boat, her feet dangling over the dark waters.

"Wish me luck," she said, and she plunged into the river. "Good luck," James whispered as he crossed his fingers.

Cecile swam, looking for Henri, occasionally coming up for air. _Henri, where are you?_ she thought._ Please don't be dead. Please!_

"Where _is_ she?" James asked himself, looking at the river. _Please be alive_, he thought. Then he saw something black floating in the water. "Could it be?" he said, leaning over the side of the boat.

"Yes!" Cecile emerged from the bottom of the river with an unconscious Henri on her shoulders. "Thank goodness the both of you are safe," James sighed. "Get Henri onto the boat," she managed to say. When the burden was off of her back, she grabbed the boat, breathing heavily, almost about to faint. James lifted her up and into the boat while she shivered. "You've done a good thing, you know that, right?" he said to her while she sat on the boat, covered in blankets.

"What's that?" James heard a voice say while he covered Henri with blankets. he whipped his head around. Redcoats were coming right toward them!

"Need a place to sleep?" one of them asked. James laughed nervously and looked nervously at Cross. He looked nonchalant and said, "Thank you kindly, sir. If we may, for two of us have been in the ice-cold river." He showed them Henri and Cecile, both shivering, both wrapped in blankets, both sound asleep. They woke up the next day to find themselves in a British camp. "Oh no..." Cecile said. "Tell me I'm dreaming."

"You two warm yet?" James asked them. "Almost," Henri responded in a sickly voice. "Could this trip get any worse?"

"Who saved me, by the way?" he asked after some time passed. "Touch everyone's hand," James suggested. "If their hands are cold, then they saved you."

Henri called everyone over, one by one. First he touched James's hand. Warm as ever. He touched the boatmen's hands. Warm. Cross's were warm, too! He then asked Cecile and asked if he could touch her hand. She slowly outstretched her arm and he touched her palm. It was cold as ice. Henri's brown eyes glistened with tears. Cecile covered herself with her blankets.

"You saved me?" he managed to ask in between tears, one occasionally running down his pale cheek. "Well," she whispered. "That's what friends do for each other, right?" They both smiled and Cecile said, "This should warm you up." She managed to stand up and walk to Henri. She sat at the bottom of his bed as close as she could get to him. She leaned her head to one side. Henri understood what she was trying to do. He leaned his head to the other side. James was grinning right behind them the whole time. They leaned closer to each other. She put his arms around his neck. They leaned even closer. He said, "This is exactly how Sarah and James do it," and they both laughed. Cecile had pulled her hair back into a ponytail. Her hair wasn't very wavy. In fact, it was perfectly straight. They leaned closer. Their lips touched. They smiled and Henri removed her elastic. Her hair spilled down, concealing this scene to all but James. They keeled over onto the cot, laughing.

They finally broke away. Cecile pulled her hair back into the ponytail. She held Henri's left hand. His right hand reached up and stroked her cheek. All three of them grinned. Henri and Cecile couldn't help it. They leaned closer yet again and redid the whole scene.

"James? Remember when you asked me who I loved?" Henri said after another minute.

"Yeah," he said.

"It's Cecile," Henri said. Cecile smiled and Henri stroked her spilled hair. She kissed him on the cheek. "Wait till Sarah hears that us Patriots had our special spot in a British camp!"

They all laughed.

"That did warm me up!" Henri agreed. "I feel much better, but could this trip get any worse?" "It will if the Redcoats find the letter from Colonel Clark to Galvez," James replied apprehensively. "Oh, no!" Cecile whispered. "Lieutenant Cross is being questioned right now!" "Don't worry," James replied. "Lieutenant Cross hid it in the floor of the barge after we got you two out of the water." They all sighed with relief, but looked shocked as Lieutenant Cross followed the Redcoat general into his tent. The general looked ready to inquire him be any means at all. He started off by saying, "And you were taking these to..."

"A trading post," Cross replied, giving his all to pull a British accent. "Just north of Natchez. Loyalists, sir, to a man. We couldn't take our goods north. No, sir. Too many rebels." The general wasn't convinced. "And rebels have no money to buy. Well, sir, _I_ will take your goods," he said stolidly. "Sure," Cross agreed. "Let's make a fair price." The general took off his hat. "You misunderstand," he said. "I said 'take', not 'buy'." "But..." Cross started to say, but the general cut him off. "Do you intend to stay?" he asked. "Because if so, perhaps we can discuss what you know of the many rebels upriver."

Cross's eyes widened. "That won't be necessary," he said nervously. "We'll take our leave, sir. Thanks to you and your men for coming to our aid." The captain waved him off.

Lieutenant Cross walked over to the three kids and crouched down. "Can you two walk?" he asked Cecile and Henri. "If we have to, we can run!" Henri declared, his voice sounding much healthier than before. "Yeah!" Cecile said. "Galvez or bust!" "You don't have to run," Cross said to them. "But we are getting out of here. Now."

The redcoat who'd sneezed when they hit the submerged log sneezed yet again. As he blew his nose, he found a piece of paper sticking out from the bottom of the barge floor.

"That guard," James said. "He found the letter to Galvez!" "He's opening it!" Henri said nervously. He was still pretty cold considering the fact that he was wrapping his arms around himself. Cecile was feeling much warmer, so she wrapped and arm around his shoulder and brought him closer to her.

Without thinking, James ran off towards the redcoats as Henri said, "Do they put _everybody_ in jail, or just the one whose letter it is?" Cecile waited apprehensively as she let him rest his head on her shoulder.

"Boy, I'm really glad you found that," James said running down the path. "It's a letter to my mother. Kinda personal." "Just a minute," the Redcoat said, pulling the paper out of James's reach. "I'm supposed to look things over. Everything." He held up the paper to read. He turm ned it on its side. "Right," he said. "Off with you, then." James took the paper with a look that clearly said he was about to laugh. He waved a hand to Cross and the others to come on, and the four of them hopped into the boat. The boatmen rowed for some time before letting out a sigh of releif.

Everyone was totally flummoxed.

"What just happened here?" Henri asked. "Yeah," Cecile said. "I'm really confused." James spoke as if he really were laughing. "He couldn't read the letter. Not a word!" "How do you know?" Cross asked him. James finally calmed down enough to say, "He was holding it upside-down, like Henri used to do." Cecile started giggling and Henri said, "Liar! I never did! Well, maybe sometimes." Cecile calmed down to a few snickers here and there.

Dear Cecile,  
I have received your letter and am very concerned for the three of you. Are you and Henri warm yet? I wish you good luck with the story and hope you return home safely.  
Tell James and Henri I said hello.   
Your friend,  
Sarah

Dear Sarah,  
Thanks for your concern. Henri and I are feeling much better. A redcoat almost found the letter to Galvez! Fortunately, he was holing it upside-down. We're almost at Mobile. We'll get out story and be home as soon as possible. James and Henri say hello and they both miss you (especially James!!!).  
Your friend,  
Cecile

The three children had gone from a small barge to a full masted ship. Lieutenant Cross had gone to set up a meeting between the five of them. They saw smoke rising from many buildings. "Looks like we missed all the action," James commented. "You can say that again," Henri said, and Cecile said, "Mmhmm."

"Governor Galvez!" Cross said as James, Henri, and Cecile got off the ship. "This is the young journalist I was telling you about."

Governor Galvez was about James's height with brown skin. Not as brown as Moses, but pretty brown. He outstretched a large hand to Henri. "Not me," he said, smiling. "James!" he said as he jerked a thumb at James, who was behind them.

"I was just kidding," Galvez said with his thick Spanish accent. "Welcome, Señor Hiller." He shook James's hand and placed his other one on James's shoulder. He turned to Henri. "And you must be Henri, the one who fell in the water." Pink patches emerged on Henri's face and he smiled with one raised eyebrow.

"And who are you?" Galvez asked, turning to Cecile and smiling. Cecile smiled, too. "My name's Cecile," she said, curtsying. "I saved Henri in the water. It's an honor to meet you, Governor Galvez." Galvez reached for her right and and hissed it. Cecile and Henri rolled their eyes, and James said, "Oh, please."

"This is my daughter, Liliana," Galvez said as a girl of about 16 came from behind him. She wore her hair like Cecile, and she was wearing a light blue skirt with a pale blue shirt. She looked like Sarah with black hair. Her piercing green eyes were all that James needed to see.

"Uh-oh," Henri said. "Here we go......" Cecile groaned.

"Nice to meet you, Liliana," James said, bending down to kiss her outstretched hand.

"And this comes from the person who said, 'Oh, please,' in the very same incident," Cecile said. She turned to James."¡James, qué en el nombre de Dios usted hace?! ¡Usted se deshonra! ¿Y con espalda de Sarah en casa? ¿Qué es supusimos hacer con usted?"

"Cecile, usted está loco. Usted no sabe nada acerca de eso. Usted no estaba allí. ¡Sálgame solo, usted me espanta! !!!" he roared back.

"¿Estoy loco? ¡Usted acaba de besar la mano de una chica que usted acaba de encontrar! ¡Y usted dijo que usted nunca llegaría a ser jamás un caballero! ¿Cómo pueda usted?" she said, looking disappointed.

"What did you say to him? And what did he say back?" Henri asked her. "Premier, j'ai dit, 'James, quel dans le nom de Dieu faites-vous ? ! Vous êtes disgracing vous ! Et avec Sarah à à la maison ? Quels sont nous avons supposé pour faire avec vous ?' Alors James a dit, 'Cecile, vous êtes fou. Vous ne savez rien de cela. Vous n'étiez pas là-bas. Me partir seul, vous m'effrayez ! !!!' Alors j'ai dit, 'Je suis fou ? Vous avez embrassé juste la main d'une fille que vous avez rencontré juste ! Et vous avez dit que vous jamais ne deviendrait jamais gentilhomme ! Comment vous pourrait?' Honnêtement!"

James ignored them and started talking to Galvez. "I can't help but notice the diverse makeup of your army," he began, taking out a pen and a writing pad. "Are these all your men?" Galvez nodded. "Come," he said. "Walk with me."

They saw many men preparing for battle while Galvez was explaining to James about his army. James wrote down everything he said.

After the battle (which Galvez won, of course), Cross, Henri, James and Cecile walked through the destroyed town.

"Now it's off to New Orleans," Cross said. "We have to go upriver to get you three home." "Doesn't it take _longer_ to go upstream?" Cecile asked. "Surely," Cross said. Henri groaned. "How long?" he said as he and Cecile sat down on some rubble, both of them looking very tired. "Four months," Cross replied without flinching. James gasped. "Four?!" he said. Cross laughed and lifted James's head up. "I knew you'd feel that way," he said. "So I asked Governor Galvez to put you on a boat to Havana." James was overjoyed. Cross finished their plan. "You'll get a merchantman there, and be in Philadelphia in a couple of weeks."

"Did you hear that? Did you hear that?" James asked gratefully. "You guys?" He looked at them. Both of them were cross-legged and asleep, Cecile's head resting on Henri's shoulder. Cecile twitched a little, and they were motionless. "They'll figure it out sooner or later," Cross said. James carefully lifted Cecile up while Cross hauled Henri onto his back. Henri opened his eyes because the weight of Cecile's head was off of his shoulders. "Let them sleep here," Cross said. "You go tell the boat to hold it for a while. Tell them two passengers will be a little late. They put the two children back down, and Cecile's head fell back onto Henri's shoulders. James gave the captain of the boat the message while Cross watched over the children. When James came back, he said, "Sarah was right. You two are in for the biggest adventure of your lives." The sleeping children smiled and keeled over into the rubble.

When Cross walked over to make sure they were okay, he smiled.

They were hugging each other.

* * *

sry guys more translations: 

James, what in God's name are you doing?! You're disgracing yourself! And with Sarah back home? What are we supposed to do with you?

Cecile, you're crazy. You don't know anything about that. You weren't there. Leave me alone, you're scaring me!!!!

I'm crazy? You just kissed the hand of a girl you just met! And you said you'd never ever become a gentleman! How could you?

First, I said, 'James, what in God's name are you doing?! You're disgracing yourself! And with Sarah at home? What are we supposed to do with you?' Then James said, 'Cecile, you're crazy. You don't know anything about that. You weren't there. Leave me alone, you're scaring me!!!!' Then I said, 'I'm crazy? You just kissed the hand of a girl you just met! And you said you'd never ever become a gentleman! How could you?' Honestly!


	10. There and Back Again

A/N: About scene breaks!!! If there is a single horizontal rule, then there is a scene break!!!!!!

Ok! Here's the chapter you've all been waiting for! Chapter 10!

Chapter 10: There and Back Again

Dear Sarah  
How have you been doing? We've been put on a boat to Havana. We're getting a merchantman there and will be back in Philadelphia in a couple of weeks. I've enclosed the dispatch I wrote so you can put it somewhere safe. I'll help you set type when we get back. Cecile and Henri are asleep beside me, and I'm getting a little drowsy myself. See you in a few weeks!

Your everlasting friend,  
James

Dear James, Cecile, and Henri,  
Have you gotten to Havana yet? I'm getting awfully worried and can't wait for you to get home.

Love,  
Sarah

* * *

Knock knock knock. 

Sarah walked to the print shop door, turned the handle, and opened it.

A blond-haired, blue-eyed boy was standing there with a brown-haired, brown-eyed boy and a black-haired, brown-eyed girl. "We're home!" Cecile said happily.

Henri ran up to Sarah and embraced her. She laughed and hugged him back. Cecile was next. The two girls hugged each other tightly. Cecile left Sarah a small box in her hand when she broke away. "What's this?" Sarah asked. "Just a little something I picked up for you in Havana. Some of them are for Blaze, but you can use some as well," Cecile answered. Sarah took the lid off and found six small sugar cubes neatly placed in the box. "Ohh," she said lovingly. "Thank you!"

"Well," Sarah said, turning to James. "Welcome back, James." "Good to be back, Sarah," he replied. "Good to be back." "I got your dispatch in the mail," she said as Cecile and Henri ran upstairs to unpack. "That was an amazing story you wrote. What else happened?" "Well," James said. "Remember what you said when Cecile first came here? About the greatest adventure of their lives?" Sarah nodded. "You were right," he said, as he launched into an explanation about the boat ride and what happened during their stay at Chickasaw Bluffs.

"James!!!" The two children yelled. "You promised not to say anything!!"

"Aw, come on!" he yelled back. "A promise is a promise," Cecile called. "You can't tell anyone. Sarah, could you please not tell anyone what Ja,es told you? It's a little embarrassing." "Of course," Sarah replied. "That's what friends do for each other." She gave James a look, and he stared at his feet. He felt so guilty.

* * *

"Hey, Henri!" Cecile called down the hall when sticking her head out of her room. "What?" Henri called, opening his door, too. "Catch!" she said as she tossed a small box to him. He caught it with both hands and looked at the silver wrapping. "Well, what are you waiting for?" she asked him. "Open it!" She beamed as he took the lid off the box. Inside were two golden buttons neatly embedded in cotton. "It's kinds of an apology gift," she said. "Why are you apologizing?" he asked her. "Well, that night you attacked yourself, I thought it was all a dream until I stepped on one of the buttons I gave you for Christmas by accident. Then when Sarah's cousin attacked you, I didn't believe that either until I stepped on the other button by accident. They're replacements," she explained while looking down at the floor. "And I also wanted to apologize for embarrassing you like that at Chickasaw Bluffs. I completely blew that out of proportion. Do you forgive me?" she asked in a small voice. 

Henri smiled. "You don't have to apologize for the second thing," he said. "Come here. I have a gift for you, too. It's not what you're thinking," he added as Cecile narrowed her eyes. "It's a friend I want you to meet. Come on!" "But..." Cecile said, but Henri already grabbed her arm and led her into the backyard. "Why are you taking me here?" she asked. "Well, we need our horses to get to where we're going," he replied. "Where exactly _are_ we going?" she asked. "We're going to the Continental Congress. Come on!" he said.

* * *

"Hi, Gilbert!" Henri said happily when they got to Congress. Cecile stayed behind him, but he wouldn't let her. "Don't be afraid," he said. "You don't understand," she told him. "We thought he was the person who attacked you the night you attacked yourself, so Sarah and I chased him for 10 miles. We didn't know it was him until you told us. I'm really sorry," she said. 

The Marquis de Lafayette seemed to understand her. He forgave her because she had said, "I was doing it to protect my friend."

"What is your name, by the way?" he asked her. Cecile tried to look dignified. "I am Cecile Marie DuMont," she said. "Sometimes Henri calls me Cecile. Sometimes he calls me Marie. And sometimes he calls me La Fille D'amant." She reddened but continued. "But most people call me Cecile."

"Henri," Gilbert said. "Could I ask you a question?" "Sure. What is it?" "Well, since the war is now at a close, I was wondering if you would like to come live with me, my wife, and my two daughters." Henri couldn't be happier, but he also seemed very worried because of his promise to Cecile. He looked at her. "Should I go?" he asked her.

She smiled. "Go ahead," she said. "Family's more important than friends." "But I can't leave Sarah and James and you just like that." "Trust me," she said. "You need a father more than a friend. I know these things."

He turned to Gilbert. " I would love to," he said. He turned back to Cecile. Are you sure about this?" he asked. "I'm going to give you something that will tell you that I _am_ telling the truth." She gave him the biggest hug with all the power she had left. "Good luck," she said. "I'll write to you every day," she promised. He looked reluctant, but he said, "When are we leaving?" "In a couple of weeks," Gilbert replied.

* * *

"So, it's the big day," they said. "I'll ride with you to the docks. You need to bring Penny, anyway," Cecile suggested. They got their horses away from the post and rode off to the dock. "It's too bad Sarah and James couldn't come," Henri said as they galloped . "I can think of three things they're doing," Cecile said, and they laughed as they rode to the docks. "Wow, I didn't think it would take that quick," Cecile said as she saw Henri's ship coming into view. "Whoa!" They said as they slowed their horses down and dismounted them. 

"Henri! Over here!" Gilbert called when he saw them. "I know I should be happy, but I'm not," Henri confessed. "I know what'll make you feel better," she said. She took him by the hand and led him to a large oak tree.

"This is what we did a few weeks ago at Chickasaw Bluffs. All over again," she said. "Seriously," she continued after Henri smirked. "Even though this is who you are destined to be, where you are destined to go, I'm still going to miss you. I can't take the pleasure of having a family away from you." Their eyes were seas of red. "Will you ever come back to visit?" she asked. "Yes," he replied. "When Sarah and James get married." "That won't take long, at the rate they're goin!" They laughed.

"Somehow, I feel like half of my heart is getting ripped out," Henri said. He couldn't look at his best freiend for what may have been the last time. "It'll be all right. Trust me. You know how I know?" she asked him. He shook his head. She took his face in her hands. "Because I'm your best friend. That's why," she said. They bit their lips and slid down to the ground. They leaned against the tree.

"Henri?"

"Oui?"

"Back at Chickasaw Bluffs, when you said you loved me, were you lying?" she asked.

Henri smiled slyly. "Let me answer that another way," he said. He made sure that nobody was around.

"We really shouldn't..." Cecile began. Although Henri agreed with her, he disagreed with her. "It's the only way to answer your question," he reminded her. "I guess," she said, and she trailed off. She started to cry. "But it'll be too painful for both of us."

"Cecile?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you, for once, not stick to logic?" he asked her seriously.

"Well..................................ok," she replied. "Who cares about logic at a time like this?!"

She put her head down. He lifted it up. "It's going to be all right," he said, but his sparkling eyes didn't seem to say so. Neither of them said a word as they silently let tears stream down their faces.

* * *

"Henri? Are you all right?" 

Gilbert came from behind the oak when he saw the two of them sitting on the ground, crying.

"I'll leave you two alone," he said, backing away from the tree. "Go ahead and cry. I won't stop you."

They leaned their backs against the tree. They were both breathing heavily and quickly. Cecile bit her lip. She put her head back down. He lifted it back up. He pulled it towards his own. He let go of her head. They closed their eyes. She tilted her head to the right. He did the same. Their lips touched. She threw her arms around his neck. He took out her hair elastic. He pulled a curl and let it go. _Boing_, they both thought. Tears streamed down their faces. She pulled him closer to her as the kiss got deeper and deeper...

He stroked her fallen hair. She stroked his soft cheek with her thumb. Their heads moved away from each other. She let her forehead sit on his shoulder. Her own shoulders were shaking with sobs.

"I'm sorry," she said, lifting her head off his shoulder. "I'm getting your shirt all tear-stained." "Don't be sorry," he replied. "But you never answered my question," she persisted. "Yes, I did. Just now. I said that I would answer it another way, remember?" he answered.

"So the answer is..."

"Yes. The answer is yes. But here are three questions for you. Do you like me? Am I in your heart? Would you cry if I left?"

"No, no, and no," she replied. Sadly, he walked away, but Cecile took his hand. "That's not what I meant," she said.

"I don't like you. I love you. You're not in my heart. You _are_ my heart. And I wouldn't cry if you left. I would _die_," she elaborated.

Henri was speechless.

"You should probably go," she said. "Your ship's waiting." They clicked their tongues and led their horses to the boat. Henri led his horse up the ramp and onto the deck, then came back down the ramp. Rather, he ran down the ramp. He threw his arms around her and they hugged each other tightly. He ran his fingers through her hair. She turned her head downwards and buried her face in his shoulder. He lifted her head up again. "Well..." he said. "Au revoir." "Yeah, au revoir," she said. "Until next time." He squeezed her hand, gave her one last tender, meaningful kiss, and finally got on the ship.

* * *

"Sarah?" Cecile asked as she cut some bread for that night's supper. "Can I ask you a question?" Sarah turned around and said, "I'm listening." 

It had been exactly one year since Henri had left America. Sarah was 19, James 18, and Cecile 12. They were all still living in the shop. James had taught Cecile the main points of journalism, and now she helped him and Sarah with the Gazette. She didn't normally set type. Occasionally she did, but most of the time she read the articles the three of them wrote to Sarah and James (who set type), but that was help!

"Remember when you told me about your old locket? The one your father gave you?" she asked. "Yes, very well," Sarah replied. "Well," Cecile continued. "I realized you were right. You don't really know the value of something until you have to give it up." She sighed and continued slining bread. Sarah looked at her understandingly. "This is about Henri, isn't it?" Cecile nodded silently.

"I have an idea," Sarah said automatically. "Tomorrow, why don't we spend the whole day out? Just the two of us. We could have a picnic, go riding, whatever you like." Cecile didn't even have to think. "That sounds reasonable," she replied without hesitation. "So we'll leave around 10:00?" Sarah said already making plans. "All right. 10:00 sounds great. You _do_ mean 10:00am, right?" Cecile added hesitantly. Sarah laughed. "Of course, silly," she said, pulling a curl and letting it go.

* * *

At 10:00 the next morning, Sarah put on her light blue cloak and Cecile put on her white one. As they were about to leave, James sprinted down the stairs. "Where are you going?" he asked them. "We're going to spend the day out," Sarah replied. Cecile looked up at her like a daughter would her mother. "Do you want me to get the horses?" she asked in a small voice. Sarah smiled down at this little girl who was like her Lissie. "Go ahead. I'll be right there," she replied. 

"She's been feeling a bit down," Sarah explained to James. The two watched as Cecile slowly led the horses towards the door. "It's because of Henri's departure," she finished. "Oh," James could only say. "Well, go ahead. Have a good time for me," he called out the door as the girls mounted their horses and went off for their big day.

"So what would you like to do first?" Sarah asked as they got to the field and tied their horses to a conveniently placed post. "Why don't we just walk around town? It'll give us a couple of hours to spend before lunch," Cecile suggested. "Great idea!" Sarah agreed. "Let's go."

* * *

"I like your cloak," Sarah commented as they got into town. "Where did you get it?" "Thank you," Cecile said and smiled. "It used to be my mother's. She gave it to me before she died and she told me to take care of it as if it were my own child. It's all I have left to remember my parents by." 

"Don't you have any jewelry?" Sarah asked, puzzled.

"Yes," Cecile said. "I used to have a ring, but I gave it to you for Christmas. You could protect it better than I could." "What kind of ring was it?" Sarah asked, intrigued. "It...it..." Cecile mustered up the rest of her courage. "It was my mother's wedding band," she said after a moment of nervous silence was between them.

"Oh, my," Sarah said. "You gave me your mother's wedding band?" I-I think it's something she would have been proud of. She would have wanted me to pass it on to another Sarah."

"You mean your mother's name was Sarah as well?" she stammered. Cecile nodded. "Both your name and your personality have given me great reason to believe that my mother put some of her love into your heart, Sarah," she said. Sarah was awestruck. "You say a lot of meaningful thing, Cecile. Some are wiser than others, but they mean a lot ever still. You should write poetry and ask James to publish it in the Gazette," Sarah suggested. Cecile looked up at her, grinning. "I already have. He gave me the first copy to read." She took some parchment out of her satchel and unfolded it. She turned to page six. "He put my poem right.........there!" she said, pointing to a section of the page. "Would you let me know what you think of it? It's just a poem about recent feelings. Not a love poem or something like that," she said. Sarah took the paper and read the poem aloud, which went like this:

"Empty Feelings

It's lonely here.  
Rooms of empty feelings  
Surround me.  
They suck  
The happiness  
From my body.  
They rip out my heart  
And leave me behind   
To lie here   
And bleed.  
I'm even worse off  
Than before..."

* * *

Sarah looked up from the paper. "I never thought you could write like this." 

"Neither did I," a strong male voice said. The girls saw a large brown hand on their shoulders. They turned around.

"MOSES!!"

He grabbed the two girls and hugged them tightly. "What are you doing here?" Cecile asked. "Yes, I thpught you were looking for a new home and for a family," Sarah continued. Just then a small African-American boy ran up to Moses and tugged the bottom of his shirt.

"Daddy, daddy, aren't we getting apples for mommy's pie?" he asked eagerly.

Moses bent down and said, "Yes, Matthew, we are." The buy turned to a dark-skinned girl behind him. "I told you, Hannah!" he said pompously.

Cecile and Sarah stared open-mouthed at him. "You have children?" they asked simultaneously. Moses nodded. "Yes. I have another daughter name Anne. She's 7, Hannah's 6, and Matthew's 4," he replied.

"I----I'm going to get James," Cecile stuttered. "He'll be so surprised! She mounted Soot and rode off to the print shop.

* * *

When she got there, she practically ran off of Soot and zoomed through the door. She spoke, almost out of breath. "James...in town...person...wants to see you...right away...come one." She ran out the door. Interested, James ran out the door after her. "Come on!" she call. "Someone in town' axious to see you. And it's not Sybil." She laughed and galloped off. James gasped, groaned, and galloped off after her.

"You are going to be so surprised!" she called behind her as Soot galloped faster. When they got there, Cecile smiled atop her horse. James gasped.

"Moses!"

"And his children," Sarah said as Cecile got off her horse. Matthew, Hannah, and Anne emerged from behind Sarah, Hannah and Anne holding the bottom of her dress.

James put his head in his hands. "My gosh, Moses. How long's it been?" "Too long," Moses agreed. "Wait a second. Where's Henri?" Cecile turned away for a moment and James put his hands on her shoulders. He turned his head to face Moses. "He moved to France with the Marquis de Lafayette," he and Sarah said quietly so as not to upset Cecile.

Cecile felt someone put their hands over her eyes.

"Moses? Could you take your hands off my face?" she asked. Moses, Sarah, and James were all grinning.

"That's not me," Moses said.

"Sarah?" she asked cluelessly. "No, it's not me either." "James?" she asked hopefully. "Nope. Guess again!" he said happily.

She turned around. "Please don't let it be Sarah's cousin," she said in a small voice. The someone took their hands off her face. It wasn't Sarah's cousin.

It was Henri.

* * *

She pinched herself. It hurt. She smiled and started to cry tears of joy. She threw her arms around his neck. He picked her up a little and whirled her around. They finally let go of each other. "What...wh-why?" was all she could say. "Did you run away again?" James asked him cautiously. "Non." They looked behind Henri and found the Marquis de Lafayette with his wife and two daughters, Yvonne and Rochelle.

"We're moving to Philadelphia!" Henri said happila. "Seriously?" Cecile asked, over joyed. She was hyperventilating. "Yes!" Henri cried. "I told Gilbert, or dad," he said, smiling at the Marquis, "Anyway, I told him that I couldn't stand being away from America, and he suggested that we move here!"

"So which house are you moving into?" Sarah asked. "We're moving in next door to the print shop!" he replied, grinning from ear to ear. "I can visit you almost every day!" He hugged Cecile again and kissed her on both cheeks. He did the same with Sarah. Then he hugged Moses and James.

The nine of them walked back to the print shop. All they way, Cecile and Henri held hands.

"Welcome back, Henri..."

End Chapter 10

So? Like? Hate? Please review!!!!!


	11. Love Tactics

I got so bored that I'm writing chapter 11 now! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY (blows a little party horn) And there's more of that freetranslation.com stuff!

Chapter 11

When they got home (well, to Henri's new house, anyway), the Marquis and his family started to unpack. "So what are you going to do now?" Cecile asked anybody who wanted to listen, namely Sarah and James.

"Erm..." Sarah said. "I don't know," James answered.

"Uh-oh. They're actually bored!" Henri said. Cecile gasped. "Never!" she breathed.

"ANYWAY," James said, "I'll be right back." He went out the door and into the print shop. When he came back, he was carrying a copy of the _Gazette_.

"Fresh from the printing press!" he said happily. Sarah gently took it out of his hands and they all read it. "Hang on," Cecile said. "I already have a copy of that." She took it from her satchel. She sat down and began to read it. "Wait a minute! James! How'd you figure that out?" she said, shell-shocked and wide-eyed at the headline on page three. James grinned. "I saw it happen," he responded. "Seriously?" He nodded.

"What? What?" Henri and Sarah were saying? "What's happened?" "I'll read it aloud!" Cecile said. And she began to read.

"Contrary to certain people's belief, which is the belief that a Mr. Frederick Phillips is at large, Mr. Phillips has in fact left the country for England. After one rape and two attacks, Phillips was finally caught outside the late Benjamin Franklin's print shop almost a year ago.

"Now, after these three attacks, this journalist has witnessed Mr. Phillips boarding a frigate on its way to England. There is no more need to overprotect yourself, for we are all out of harm's way."

"He's gone!" Sarah said. "He's finally gone!" She threw her arms around Cecile's neck, and Cecile almost fell over because of the force. Everyone hugged each other and yelled, "He's gone!" But when Sarah went to hug James, Cecile and Henri smirked. Sarah made a forward movement twoards him, but then she realized who else was there. So she stuck out a hand. James shook it and said, "This would have to be the best day of my life." Cecile and Henri gave Sarah a knowing look. It kind of said, "Go ahead and hug him. We won't mind." So Sarah just threw her arms around his neck. James looked a little surprised but Henri and Cecile gave a look that said, "Just do it!" James smiled and nodded. He wrapped his arms around Sarah, and everyone else cheered.

* * *

"Finally!" Cecile said as everyone sat down to a sumptuous dinner of turkey and potatoes. "We've waited for that forever!" Henri agreed as he took a bite of turkey. "What are you talking about?" Sarah asked. "We've been waiting for you two to actually have the nerve to hug in front of us for the longest time!" Cecile said, spreading some butter on her slice of bread. "Seriously," she added as Sarah and James reddened. "It's nothing to feel embarrassed about." "Oui!" Henri concurred. "We've done it all the time, and you haven't seen us go pink." Cecile kicked him under the table. "Ouch!" he said. He gave Cecile a what-did-you-do-that-for look. She gave him back a you-weren't-supposed-to-say-anything-because-you-promised look. "Oh, well," Henri spoke aloud, and Cecile rested her forehead in between her thumb and index finger. 

After everyone finished their dinner, Cecile went into the kitchen and asked Sarah to come along with her. Henri went up to his room and asked James to come with him.

"Sarah? Do you speak another language? I don't really want anyone to understand what I'm about to tell you," Cecile said. "Yes, Cecile. I speak Italian." "Phew!" Cecile said. "And I thought I was the only one."

"Lei vede, Sarah, ho quest'amico. Indovino ho avuto più sentimenti per il mio amico di ho pensato ho fatto. Che sono ho supposto per fare, Sarah? Lo lascio va? Lo lotto? Che?"

Sarah understood every word she said and smiled.

"Perché lei sorridono?" Cecile asked.

"Il Cecile, sono passato attraverso questo stesso sentimento esatto quando ero quindici. Ciò è quattro anni fa. Me ha portato tre anni a ciò ammettere sentendo. Portare il suo tempo, Cecile, prima che lei l'ammette. Ammetterlo quando lei sono pronto. Per caso, questo Henri di amico è?" Sarah said and grinned.

"No!" Cecile said. Sarah gave her a look. "Lei non ingannano nessuno, Cecile. Non me, non James, neanche Henri sé!" she said knowingly. "Come lei saprebbe?" Cecile asked skeptically. Sarah said these words understandingly: "Perché sono passato attraverso questo prima. Ricorda?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Henri was trying to talk to James. "James, do you speak any other languages because I don't want anyone else to understand what I'm about to tell you." "Well, I know Spanish," James answered. "Yeah, but then Cecile could understand us." "I know some German," James said. "Perfect!" Henri said. 

"Sie sehen, James, habe ich diesen Freund. Ich errate, daß ich mehr Gefühle für meinen Freund gehabt habe, als ich habe gedacht, daß ich machte. Was bin ich habe angenommen, zu machen, James? Lasse ich es gehen? Kämpfe ich es? Was?" Henri said, and James grinned.

"Warum lächeln Sie?" Henri asked.

"Henri, ich bin durch dieses genaue gleiche Gefühl gegangen, als ich vierzehn war. Das ist vor drei Jahren. Es hat für mich vier Jahre gedauert, daß Gefühl zuzugeben. Lassen Sie sich Zeit, Henri, bevor Sie es zugeben. Geben Sie ihm zu, wenn Sie bereit sind. Ist durch irgendeine Chance dieser Freund Cecile?" James said in spit-fire German, leering at Henri.

"Nein!" Henri said, looking like he was obviously lying.

James gave him a knowing look. "Sie täuschen nicht irgendjemand, Henri. Nicht mich, nicht Sarah, auch nicht Cecile sich selbst!" he told Henri truthfully.

"Wie würden Sie wissen?" Henri asked him suspiciously.

"Weil ich durch dies vor gegangen bin. Erinnern Sie sich an?" James repeated.

Cecile said, "Vado dirlo, Sarah. Lei verrà con me?" And Sarah said, "Sì." At the same time, but in a different room, Henri said, "Ich werde sie erzählen, James. Werden Sie mit mir kommen?" And James said, "Ja."

* * *

Cecile and Sarah ran out of the kitchen, while Henri and James ran down the stairs. The four of them bumped into each other. Sarah and Cecile toppled over James and Henri and fell on their backs. Cecile and Henri got up and dusted themselves off. "Henri, I have something to tell you," Cecile said. "No, me first," Henri insisted. He turned to look at James. "You're doing the right thing," said James. "Go ahead." Henri took a deep breath and opened his mouth, but no words came out. "Go on," Cecile said with her eyes. 

"Well, Cecile, the thing is, I think I like you," he said. "Well, of course. We wouldn't be friends if you didn't," she said. "Not like that," he said. "More than that," he clarified. "Do you mean to say...." Cecile said. "Even though I already did, I just want Sarah and James to know. Well, really only Sarah, because I told James at Chickasaw Bluffs, remember?" Cecile nodded. "So what are you trying to say?" Sarah asked. Cecile turned to her. "He's trying to tell you that he loves me," Cecile explained. Sarah was shell-shocked. "And that's exactly what you were trying to tell him," Sarah said. "I haven't told him yet. It's only been the other way around."

Henri looked wide-eyed at her. "You do?" he said. "Wait. I already told you," Cecile said. "When you asked me those three questions last year." "Oh, yeah!" Henri said. Sarah looked like she was about to cry.

* * *

That night, the four of them sat outside, drinking cocoa and looking at the stars. 

"I know what else looks like those stars," Henri said. "What?" Cecile asked cluelessly.

"A little something I picked up in France," Henri said as he took something out of his pocket. She looked back up at the stars. Henri took her hand, put a small velvet box in it, and closed her hand. "Open it when you go to bed," Henri whispered as he took a sip of cocoa. "Ok," Cecile whispered back.

That night, Cecile was about to turn off her bedside lamp when she remembered the small velvet box in her hand. She pushed the small button that locked the box and opened it. Inside was a golden ring with a diamond in the middle. She was speechless. She quietly left her room and went to the end of the hall, to the darkened room with a sleeping Henri in it. She tiptoed over to his bed. She bent over and kissed him on the cheek. "Merci beaucoup," she whispered, and she left the room.

* * *

Translations! In order: 

You see, Sarah, I have this friend. I guess I had more feelings for my friend than I thought I did. What am I supposed to do, Sarah? Do I let it go? Do I fight it? What?

Why are you smiling?

Cecile, I went through this exact same feeling when I was fifteen. That's four years ago. It took me three years to admit that feeling. Take your time, Cecile, before you admit it. Admit it when you are ready. By any chance, is this friend Henri?

No!

You're not fooling anyone, Cecile. Not me, not James, not even Henri himself!

How would you know?

Because I went through this before. Remember?

(This whole conversation is repeated with Henri and James. Only the names and the language change, capiche? Also instead of fifteen...four years ago, it'll be fourteen....three years ago.)

And then...

I'm going to tell him, Sarah. Will you come with me?

Sarah says Yes.

And Henri says

I'm going to tell her, James. Will you come with me?

James says Yes.

Then at the end of the chapter, Cecile says thank you very much.


	12. Independence Day

Yay! Liberty's Kids season starts all over! Anyways, here's chapter 12! I know you've all been waiting for it! So here it comes!  
  
Oh, and a friendly little reminder. I don't own Liberty's Kids. :)  
  
Chapter 12: Independence Day  
  
"Aah!"  
  
Cecile's moans of anguish woke Sarah up early that morning. She looked at her bedside clock and read: 3:40am. I wonder what's wrong with Cecile, Sarah thought. She lit a candle and walked down the hall to Cecile's bedroom. She knocked on the door. "Cecile? It's me, Sarah. May I come in?" A click in the doorknob told her that she could.  
  
"Is something wrong?" Sarah asked. "I feel like I swallowed about 20 pairs of scissors and I don't know why!" Cecile said in a guttural voice. "Owww!" Sarah smiled. She lifted up her covers and Cecile screamed.  
  
Right in between her legs was a small pool of blood.  
  
Cecile was breathing heavily. "Aaaah! It hurts, Sarah! Why is there blood in my bed? Am I dying?" she asked. Sarah giggled. "No, you're not dying. That's perfectly normal in all girls. I suppose I'll have to give you the clarification my mother gave me," Sarah said. She then instigated an explanation about menstruation, and how you can prevent that "little pool of blood". "But why am I getting a lot of pain?" Cecile asked. "That's normal. It just means that the blood is being released," Sarah elucidated.  
  
"Thanks, Sarah," Cecile said, giving her a big hug. She went back to sleep. Sarah went back to her room, blew out her candle, and once again fell asleep.  
  
Cecile woke up at 6:30 to a hot July morning. She washed up, put her new lilac dress on, and went downstairs. She found Sarah in her usual baby blue riding dress, said good morning, and started to help her make breakfast. But first, she took her new ring off so it wouldn't get lost in the dough for their bread.  
  
Sarah noticed the gleaming ring that Cecile put in her pocket. "That's a beautiful ring. Did it belong to one of your parents?" she asked. "No," Cecile replied. "I got it as a gift last night." "From Henri?" Sarah presumed, and Cecile nodded. Sarah stirred the dough while Cecile added some cinnamon to the batter. "He must really like you to give you such a pretty ring as that one," Sarah commented, and Cecile said, "Mm-hmm."  
  
She wiped her hands on her apron and added the yeast to the batter. She covered the batter with a cloth and they let the yeast rise. Then they put the batter in the oven and let it bake. Later Cecile made some pancake batter and added blueberries to it. She cooked them on the Franklin stove and put a stack of pancakes on a small plate.  
  
James woke up a couple of hours later. He, too, washed, dressed, and went downstairs to find two young ladies in eye-catching dresses. "Good morning," he said drowsily as he walked over to Sarah and Cecile. Henri came over a few minutes later and walked over to Cecile, her lilac dress shining with loveliness. "Where is it?" Henri whispered to her. "In my pocket. I didn't want it to get covered in dough," she whispered back. The two boys sat down at the table and waited for the girls to wash their hands and sit down with them.  
  
"So, Henri," James said slyly as he buttered some cinnamon bread. "What were you whispering to Cecile about?" "Hmm? Oh, I was just asking her where she put something," he answered. "And I told him it was in a safe place," Cecile added. "So what was the something?" Sarah asked. "Sarah, you saw it this morning," Cecile said. "Oh, right." "So what is it?" James asked. Henri looked at Cecile and nodded. She took the ring out of her pocket, put it on her finger under the table, and put her left hand on the tabletop. James gasped, his eyes wide with admiration.  
  
"When did you get it?" he asked. "I got it while I was in France," Henri replied. "And he gave it to me last night. The only reason you didn't see it was because he told me to open it when I got into bed," Cecile said as she cut up a pancake. "Then what?" James asked, intrigued by this story. "Then I opened the box and I found the ring."  
  
"Wow," Sarah whispered.  
  
At last, the four were done with breakfast. "Wait," Henri said as Sarah, James, and Cecile got up to leave. "I never explained the worth of the ring. It's not just a little gift for nothing." Everyone sat down again, patiently waiting for Henri's explanation.  
  
"Everyone, this ring is a token of my and Cecile's friendship. If I ever forget to bring a gift for a birthday or for Christmas, just look at the ring and you will be filled with the feeling of comfort. It's a feeling of comfort because you know that you are surrounded by people you love and are loved by," Henri said kindly. Cecile smiled, and the four of them got up from their seats. Cecile was humming "Through My Own Eyes". She went upstairs to her room and began to write in her diary.  
  
July 4, 1787---America has been free for 11 years. I just got a beautiful ring from Henri. Although I got it last night, today it became beautiful because it's a token of friendship.  
  
Cecile closed her diary and began to sing.  
  
"I'm looking at life  
Through my own eyes.  
Searching for a hero  
To idolize  
Feeling the pain  
As innocence dies  
Looking at life   
Through my own eyes  
  
Hoping and praying  
For a brighter day  
I listen to my heart  
And I obey  
How can I see it  
Any other way?   
I'm looking at life (looking at life)   
Through my own eyes."  
  
Where did that other "Looking at life" come from? She couldn't have possibly sung it. She was already singing the other part. She sang the song again.  
  
"I'm looking at life  
Through my own eyes.  
Searching for a hero  
To idolize  
Feeling the pain  
As innocence dies  
Looking at life   
Through my own eyes  
  
Hoping and praying  
For a brighter day  
I listen to my heart  
And I obey  
How can I see it  
Any other way?   
I'm looking at life (looking at life)   
Through my own eyes."  
  
It was a boy's voice! She was sure of it. She looked up---and there was James, her one-man audience.  
  
"You---heard---me?" she said. "Oh no, oh no, oh no! Well, uh, what did you think?" she asked uneasily, drumming her fingers on her writing desk. "Well, um," James said, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "I liked it." "Really? You did?" she asked. "Yup." James nodded with approval. "You have a knack for singing and writing." "And you have a talent for sneaking up on people, you know that? You shouldn't be a journalist. You ought to be a _spy_!" They both laughed.  
  
"Hey, wait a minute," she said, looking at the bottom of his shirt. She sighed exasperatedly. "Did you get stuck in the printing press _again_?" she asked, her voice having a mix of both sprightliness and suspicion. James laughed nervously. "Y-yeah," he said. "I did." "And you actually managed to get out by yourself?" she asked, thinking that it was too hard to believe. "It may sound hard to believe, but yeah, I did." Cecile laughed. "Mission accomplished!" she said.  
  
"Now what?" she said after a while. "Hmmm...well, the paper's already printed out and sold. There are no more stories, it's July 4th...maybe we should go out and celebrate," James said. "My treat." "Yeah! I'll go get Sarah; you go ask the Marquis if he and his family would like to come with us. But you don't have to pay for everything. We don't even know what we're doing." "Actually," James said. "I've been planning something special for this holiday. You'll see later."  
  
"Oh, that reminds me. I have a riddle for you. You're going to love this one. Is there a 4th of July in England?" Cecile asked, looking a little triumphant. James gave the obvious answer of a Patriot. "No." Cecile laughed. "Yes, there is! Look at a British calendar! There is a 4th of July, but it's just plain old July 4th!" James growled and chased her out of her room and down the stairs. He caught her at the bottom step and Cecile called, "Sarah! He's got me! Aaahhhh!" James set her down at the bottom of the stairs. Sarah appeared from behind the stairs and said, "What's going on?" "Nothing," James said. Cecile nudged him and hissed, "Liar."  
  
James tried to pick her up again, but she ran out of his reach and into the printing room. He chased her again and finally managed to grab her. "See?" Cecile said during her moment of defeat. "You should be like this more often." "How?" James said, trying to tickle her till she surrendered. She giggled. "More fun and out-going!" she said in between laughter. "You can let me go now." He set her in a chair and went up to his room.  
  
Fortunately, Sarah could come, and so could the Marquis and his family. They spent the day riding their horses in their little field, and when night fell, James disappeared for a few minutes. "Anyone see where he went?" Henri asked. "Nope," Cecile said. "No," Sarah answered. Suddenly, they all saw a tall blond boy with a sparkler in hand. "Come on!" he said. "Where are we going?" Sarah asked. "To the harbor! They always do a light show!" James said happily. "Wow, James. When you said something special, you meant it!" Cecile said, amazed at all the sparklers and fireworks.  
  
"Here," James said, handing her a sparkler and lighting it for her. "Wow!" she breathed. She whirled the sparkler around. It started out brilliant and bright. Then it lost some of its sparkle, and finally died. "Hmm," she said. "This sparkler is like human life."  
  
"How's that?" Sarah asked. "Well, you start off being born as a playful and sprightly baby. Then, as you grow into an adult, you lose some of the sprightliness. Finally, as you become elderly, you've lost so much sprightliness that all that's left for you to do is wither away and kick the bucket," she said thoughtfully. "Try it again with another sparkler. This one won't work again."  
  
Sarah lit a sparkler and held it. It, too, started out bright, then lost its sparkle, and died. "She's right," Sarah said. "You know what my dad used to say?" Cecile said. "He said that if you ever made a wish on a firework, then it would come true. Look, there are a few now!" she cried, pointing to the ebony blanket that was the sky. Flowers of glowing brilliance exploded, and they all made wishes on them.  
  
"I wish........."  
  
"You know," Henri said, "I didn't really run away. I went off with my parents on a ship." James nodded and put his head down. Cecile gave James a perplexed look. "What?" she said. "That's how Henri became an orphan," Sarah explained. "A plague hit the ship, killing almost half of the passengers." "...Including Henri's parents," James finished sadly. "The captain of the ship said that I could be the cabin boy in order to pay off the debts," Henri explained. "I washed the floors, I brought him food, and if I did one little thing wrong, he would throw me in the hold for hours." Cecile gasped.  
  
"You were a slave?" she said in astonishment. "But, then, how did you manage to escape?" "That's where me and Moses came in," James said, beaming. "James, it's 'That's where Moses _and I_ came in,'" Sarah automatically corrected. "Honestly, why bother being a journalist if you're not even going to use accurate grammar?" "That's what I said! Not about the grammar, but that he shouldn't be a journalist. He has every characteristic for being a spy! He's sneaky, cunning, and quiet!" Everyone laughed affably.  
  
"_Anyway_," James said, trying to take the oral limelight. "Moses _and I_ went onto the very ship Henri was on because we were getting parts for the printing press. There, we found Henri behind bars. Moses took the handle for the press and pushed the bars open. We then took out the parts, laid them under straw and put Henri in instead," he said. "Wow, and you escaped with him right under the captain's nose?" she asked, enthralled. "Yup, right under the captain's nose. Although I'm not so sure if we made a good trade, meaning taking Henri instead of the printing press parts," James teased. "Hey!" Henri said playfully.  
  
The four of them sat down on the side of the harbor, swaying their legs over the murky ocean. "Hey!" Cecile said suddenly. "Hay is for horses," Sarah said exasperatedly. "Better for cows!" James said happily. "Pigs can't eat it because they don't know how!" Henri exclaimed gleefully. Cecile laughed. "Anyway, I just realized my wish came true!" she said. "It did? How?" Henri asked. "Well, I wished that somebody would tell me the truth about something, I just wasn't sure who or what," she admitted.  
  
"I wish my wish would come true," Sarah grumbled under her breath. Suddenly, as if she had spoken her wish aloud, James shifted closer to her. Not too close, but close enough for him to wrap an arm around her shoulder. Sarah smiled a little bit and said, "This is the 11th year we've been free from England and their dreadful society." "Dreadful society is right," James agreed, and without warning, gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.  
  
"So how did you two meet?" Cecile inquired, a little puzzled.  
  
"We didn't really meet on the best terms," James said.  
  
FLASHBACK  
  
"Take that!" Sarah shrieked as she whacked the blond boy in the head with her pillow. Feathers flew everywhere. James collapsed on the ground. "What hit me?" he moaned.  
  
"You'll never take me alive!" Sarah yelled at him. "Take you? Where?" James asked. "Wherever Indians take people," Sarah replied.  
  
James stood up. "I'm not no Indian. None of us are," he said. "You're not an Indian. Who taught you grammar?" Sarah corrected. "Who taught you to whack people in the head?" James retorted. "My apologies," Sarah said, taking a book out of her pillow. "I thought you were here to kidnap me." "Kidnap? I'm a journalist for the Pennsylvania Gazette," James explained. "Now, what do you have to say about the tax protest?" "Is that what this is about? Disgraceful. That tea is private property of the king." "So you think it's okay to tax colonists without a say in Parliament?" James asked her disbelievingly.  
  
Sarah went on about saying that colonists should be loyal subjects to the king. "And you can quote me on that," she snapped. "Mr....What is your name?" James was looking more conceited than ever. "Hiller. James Hiller. And who would I be quoting?" "Whom may I be quoting? If you're going to be a journalist, you ought to treat your words with more care," Sarah reprimanded. "Just tell me your name, will you?" James said, annoyed. "I've got work to do." "Phillips," Sarah said. "Miss Sarah Phillips of London, England." James spelled out her name. "S-A-R-A-H P-H-I..." he paused, a shocked look on his face. "Sarah Phillips? _You're_ Sarah Phillips?!"  
  
END FLASHBACK  
  
"You met during the Boston Tea Party?" Cecile asked, shell-shocked. Everyone except Cecile nodded. "So how did _you two_ meet?" James asked slyly.  
  
"Well," Cecile said. "We've been friends since we were four years old, I think." Henri nodded. "Four? That's an early age!" Sarah exclaimed. Cecile bowed her head. "Wait a minute. Four years old?" James said. "Your parents died when you were four years old. Are you saying that the man who saved you was...?"  
  
"...My dad," Henri finished. "He brought her home and gave her a place to stay. We've been friends ever since. Then I left two years later with my family."  
  
"Wait a minute," James said, feeling his pocket. "Somebody put something in my pocket." James took a small parcel and a piece of paper out of his pocket. First he read the note to himself.  
  
"Dear James,  
Please take this cracker as a token of my gratitude for bringing me over to America, and for being such a great friend. I know it'll remind you of someone very close to you. I hope you like it!  
  
Your friend, Cecile."  
  
He unwrapped the parcel to find a small cracker. He pulled the two ends. The cracker exploded, sending bits of confetti into the air. He looked inside both halves of the cracker.  
  
Inside the half in his right hand, he felt something hard. And cold. And round. He felt a hole in whatever it was, so he put his finger through it. He took his hand out of the cracker.  
  
There, on his right middle finger, was a piece of gold made exactly to look like his late mother's ring.

"It's beautiful!" he said, twisting the ring every which-way to look at its perfection. "Moses helped me make it," she said. "After Sarah told me about the incident with her locket and your ring, I thought maybe you could use a little kindness. Do you like it?" James didn't know what to say. "I love it! But where did you get the gold?"

Then Henri looked at Cecile's arm. "What happened to your bracelet?" he asked. "What bracelet?" Sarah asked. "Oh, remember that day when we met Moses and his children?" Cecile asked. Sarah nodded. "That night, when I went to bed, not only did I find a ring, but I also found a bracelet that belonged to my mother. Henri didn't even tell me he had it." She gave him a why-didn't-you-tell-me-you-had-it look. He gave her a because-your-mother-told-me-to-give-it-to-you-when-the-time-was-right look.

"It used to be a full loop," Henri said. "What happened?" Cecile showed them the bracelet that was now a semicircle. James just looked at her. He knew what she had done. She used the gold from her mother's bracelet to make it. "How come you used only half?" he asked. "Because there was so much that we only needed half to make the ring," she answered. "But I gave you the more important part of the bracelet. I gave you that part that my father had engraved." "What did he write?"

"He wrote, 'I love you, Sarah'."

James was clearly in tears now. Each time a firework exploded, you could almost see droplets of water running down his face. "James, don't cry," everyone said. James looked up. "How can you not cry," he said, "when someone has given you a gift from the bottom of their heart just to make you feel better?" Sarah gave him a Look. "That happened to me, remember? You used your ring to make a locket for me. I didn't cry. Well, not in front of you." "Aha! You did cry!" James said.

Suddenly, a girl with brown hair and blue eyes rode up to them. She was riding on the cart that she had attached to her horse, Star. "Need a ride back, Mr. Hiller?" she asked. "Hi, Sybil," the four of them said. "So would you like a ride to the print shop? That's just where I'm headed." "Sure." "Hop on!" she said happily, and the four of them got onto the cart behind the horse. They rode off to the shop in silence. James and Sarah watched the light show while Henri and Cecile fell asleep on their shoulders: Henri sleeping on Sarah's, Cecile sleeping on James's.

"Happy Independence Day, everyone."

When they got to the print shop, James carried Henri into the print shop, while Sarah carried Cecile. "Thanks again, Sybil. I don't know how we could repay you," they said. "It's no trouble at all," Sybil replied as she took the cart off of Star and carefully put it back in its rightful place. "Happy Independence Day, Sybil." "Happy Independence day to you, too. Hyah!" she said, and she and Star were off. "Bye, Sybil!"

James carried Henri up to his room and laid him there, while Sarah took Cecile up to her room and laid her on her bed. "Hold on," James said to Sarah. He took out a piece of foolscap and his pencil.

"Dear Cecile,  
I don't know how I could possibly thank you for such a wonderful gift. I assure you, it will mean more to me than anything in the world. Trust me, this ring has the same value as my love for Sarah (and you know how much I love her). Thanks again for everything.

Your everlasting friend,  
James"

He went up to her room and set it on the bedside table beside her clock. "I hope she finds it," he said to Sarah.

That night, James crawled into his bed knowing that he wouldn't wake up with a guilty conscience.

* * *

French lesson!!!

J'aime les revues, vous savez. J'ai besoin des revues. Je dois avoir des revues. DONNER ME REVUES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love reviews, you know. I need reviews. I must have reviews. GIVE ME REVIEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You get it, don't you?


	13. In the Darkness Is the Light

Hey guys sorry for the delay but I went to my grandparents' for the 4th of July. Unfortunately, they don't have a computer, so I couldn't write fanfiction. Boooooooo. So here's chapter 13 for all of you who've been waiting. Kinda something I saw off of "So Weird", but hey.  
  
Chapter 13: In the Darkness Is the Light  
  
The next morning, although it was one day before Cecile's birthday, she decided to stay in her room, all by herself. But at least she had enough dignity to get out of bed, wash up and dress. Then, she just went back to her room and thought. What could she do that left her alone? How could she get away from everyone? Suddenly, it came to her. She sneaked out of the print shop, undid the rope that tethered Soot to her post. She mounted Soot and side-saddle rode to the little field that they owned. She tied Soot to the tree and walked off on her own to get away from everything. But she wasn't alone. No. She was never alone...  
  
"Has anyone seen Cecile?" James asked around 9:30. "I'll go check her room," Sarah stated. She went up the stairs and knocked on the door. "Cecile?" she called. "Are you in there?" She turned the knob and pushed the door open. When she got in there, all she saw was a neatly made bed, a box that held Cecile's flute, and on her writing desk Sarah found a quill, some ink, and a piece of foolscap with writing on it. Curiosity killed the cat, one part of Sarah thought. The other part said, True, but satisfaction brought him back. She went with the second part and picked up the paper. She was sure glad she did, because it was a letter.  
  
"Dear Sarah, James, and Henri,  
  
I'm sorry I had to do this, but I really can't stand it any longer. I'm going to spend this day alone, by myself. Don't come to find me. You'll just make it worse. You can't come. I don't want you to get hurt.  
  
Cecile"  
  
Sarah looked up from the paper, flung the door open, slammed it, and ran down the stairs waving the paper in her hand. "Look what she left!" Sarah said to James. He read the letter and said, "What do you think we should do? Should we go find her?" "Well, I don't know..." Just then Henri opened the door to the print shop and ran in, practically out of breath. "Hi!" he said happily. He then noticed the mixed looks of confusion and dejection on Sarah's and James's faces. "What's wrong?" he asked, puzzled. James handed him the letter that Cecile wrote to them. "I say we go find her!" Henri said confidently. "Are you mad?" Sarah asked him. "Did you not just read what she wrote? She said not to come." "Then again, we don't really know if she's safe," James pointed out. He got his coat. "Henri, Sarah, you stay in case she comes back here," he told them superiorly. They scowled but agreed.  
  
James mounted his horse and moved slowly towards the town. There was no sign of her in town, so they went out towards the suburbs, near the old field they owned. "It's Soot!" He sped up Caesar and galloped to Soot. He stopped and tied his horse to the same tree that Soot was tied to. "Cecile? Cecile? Where are you?" James called. He walked all around the field and finally found her sitting down, leaning against a tree. "Cecile? Oh, thank goodness I found you!" he said happily, picking her up. When he finally put her down, he noticed that she had a horrified look on her face. "James! What are you doing here?! Get out!" "But—" he started to say, but Cecile cut him off. "Get out!" she hissed. Suddenly, a strong breeze passed. "Come on!" she said. "You have to get out of here!!" But it was too late. Somehow, Caesar managed to break free from his rope and he was headed straight toward James!  
  
Out of nowhere, something---or someone---picked him up and threw him aside. He gave a scream of agony and felt his right arm crunch underneath him. The breeze was gone. Cecile ran over to him and kneeled down. "Are you okay?" she said worriedly. "Yeah," he said. "But I think I broke my arm." "Oh my God!" she said. She turned around and found Sarah behind her. Sarah saw James sprawled on the ground, turned around and headed for the doctor. The doctor came right away and did his best to mend James's broken arm. "You'll have to stay in bed for a couple of days," the doctor said. "See? I told you. This is why I didn't want you to come. Now don't come back! I'm serious." "Wait a minute. How did that happen? Did you push me?" "She couldn't have," Sarah pointed out. "I was watching her the whole time. She stayed rooted to the spot. You moved all on your own." "You have to get out of here! Seriously! Go!"  
  
A couple of days later, Cecile hadn't come back to the print shop. Everyone was taking good care of James. Around 2:00 in the afternoon, James called Henri to his room. "Henri? Can you do me a favor?" he asked. "Sure," Henri replied. "Please go get Cecile. I have to talk to her." "Uh...okay," he said. "But I thought she wanted to be left alone." "Please just go get her," James pleaded. "Okay, okay, I'm going," Henri said, yielding to the ever- popular puppy dog pout.  
  
Meanwhile, Sarah was trying to figure out how James had moved just in time to get away from being trampled on by Caesar. She looked all over, even in Ben Franklin's office, until she finally found something that was printed by Dr. Franklin 20 years ago...  
  
Henri mounted Penny and galloped back to the field. He found Cecile and said, "Cecile, James wants to talk to you." Cecile looked like a lost child. "I can't leave here," she said quietly. "Why?" he asked playfully. "Come on. He just wants to talk to you." "No, I can't leave here. I'm serious." The breeze came back. "No, Henri, you have to get out of here!" she said as if she were a small child afraid of the dark. "Get out!" "Look, he just wants to talk to you!" Suddenly, something---or someone---pushed him down. "What did you do that for?!" he asked crossly. "I didn't do that!" she tried to explain as she helped him up. "Really, I didn't!" Henri got back on top of Penny and rode back to the print shop.  
  
Sarah picked up the piece of paper that was lying on the floor next to the printing press and sat down in the closest armchair she could find. She read this paper holding secrets that nobody had ever considered to read.  
  
"Telekinesis is the magic of making things move with one's mind. In order to do so, one must concentrate on whatever he or she wants to move. When—"  
  
"Sarah! Sarah!" Henri said as he came running through the print shop door. "What is it? What did you learn from her?" she asked excitedly. Henri slammed the door and stomped over to the armchair where Sarah was seated. "I learned that when Cecile said leave her alone, she meant it," he said angrily. "What are you talking about?" Sarah asked, confused. Henri rolled up his sleeve. Underneath it was a blossoming bruise, and right next to it, a cut with streaming blood. She gasped and got a bandage for him right away.  
  
"Look what I found while you were out!" she said happily as they went back to the armchair. She gave him the secret paper, and they read it aloud.  
  
"Telekinesis is the magic of making things move with one's mind. In order to do so, one must concentrate on whatever he or she wants to move. Whenever this happens, the object may levitate, be pushed over, or thrown aside."  
  
Henri looked at Sarah with his brown eyes wide with shock. "Do you think that's how James and I got moved? With tele...teleki...?" "Telekinesis," Sarah said. "But Cecile said she didn't do it. Maybe if we read some more, we'll find out more about it." So they kept reading.  
  
"One who has telekinetic powers may also create invisible life. Such life is of a topa. A topa is similar to an imaginary friend, created by someone. Each time that a topa is in range of someone, the topa may attack, which makes them harder to control with each person. The only way a topa can be destroyed is if the creator of the topa knows that he or she has the power to do so. When the topa is destroyed, so are the person's telekinetic powers."  
  
"That's it!" Sarah said timidly. "That's why she doesn't want us to be there. She has a topa!"  
  
"Henri?" James called from his room. "I'm coming!" Henri yelled back as he ran up the staircase.  
  
"Did she come?" James asked. "No, she wouldn't come. But she did push me onto the ground the same way she moved you," Henri answered. "That's crazy," James said doubtfully. "If she moved me while staying rooted to the spot, then she would have to have telekinetic---" James looked at him. "Powers," they both said. "So she moved me? But she said she didn't." "She didn't. Her topa did it out of her control." "Her what?" "Sarah and I were reading this paper downstairs on telekinetic powers. Someone who has them, like Cecile, can create a topa. That's kind of like an imaginary friend who gets stronger and stronger when people come into its range. It starts getting out of her control, so it started attacking the two of us."  
  
That night, James heard a knock on his window. He opened it and there was Cecile. "Hi," she said. "I'm really sorry about your arm. I told you not to come. I can only stay a while." "Come in," James said and she climbed through the window. "Look, I found out what's wrong. Have you ever heard of telekinesis?" Cecile just looked at him. The wind chimes in James's room tinkled. "Uh-oh. I have to go. Now," Cecile said. "Wait a minute! I know what's wrong!" James said, grabbing her arm, but she jerked it out of his reach. She ran down the stairs and stopped at the door. Sarah saw her. "Hi, Cecile," she said.  
  
"Come on!" James said. "Can't you just stay for a little while?" He stopped in front of Sarah. "Leave me alone!" Cecile said, and something---or someone---pushed both James and Sarah down. Cecile gave them a worried look and ran out the door back to the field.  
  
"Are you all right?" they asked each other. They both nodded. Henri came down the stairs with a candle. "Hey!" he said. "You're supposed to be setting the type for the newspaper." He pointed to Sarah. "And you're supposed to be in bed because of your arm." He pointed to James. "So why should I find you on the floor doing that?!" Sarah gave him a get-out-of- here look. "That's not what we were doing, I swear." "Cecile just came back and her topa..." "...Pushed us down," James said. "We weren't doing what you thought we were doing," Sarah said, and they both reddened. "Now go back to bed, both of you. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."  
  
The next day, James's arm wasn't so sore anymore. Henri brought him a blueberry muffin and some milk for breakfast, and as he ate, Henri asked him about Cecile's visit the night before. James told him every single detail.  
  
Henri gasped. "Hold on! Unroll your bandage. I think I have proof that it was a topa!" James took the end of his bandage and slowly unraveled it. He gasped and Henri said, "Aha! C'est vrai!" There was one big bruise on James's arm. He turned it around. There were four more on the other side of his arm. As he twisted it towards the left, he noticed something about it.  
  
The five bruises looked like giant finger prints. He put his fingertips on top of the bruises. They fit perfectly. "Henri," he whispered. "It is a topa. Look." And he showed him the fingerprints. They both ran downstairs and told Sarah. She told them to get their coats. "Why?" the two boys asked. "Because," Sarah said exasperatedly. "We're going to get her to kill that topa."  
  
Five minutes later, they were back at the field, in front of Cecile. "Cecile," James said. "We know you have a topa. And we know you can get rid of it," Sarah continued. "You just have to believe in yourself," Henri said. The strong breeze came back. "Come on! You really have to get out of here. I don't want you to get hurt!" she whispered tremulously. "We're not leaving. We know you can get rid of it. Just concentrate."  
  
All of a sudden, a nearby vine slithered over to Sarah's legs and wrapped itself around them. It pulled Sarah towards the tree. She screamed and tried to pull the vine off, but it would budge. "I knew this was going to happen," Cecile said anxiously. "You can do it!" Sarah cried. "Just concentrate," James said. "CONCENTRATE. Concentrate on what you want to do." Cecile shut her eyes tight. Images were swarming in her mind. She opened her eyes. "I can't do it," she said.  
  
The vine was pulling Sarah closer and closer to the tree, as if it wanted the tree to kill her. Cecile closed her eyes again. One part of her mind was saying, Don't do it. The topa's your friend, remember? Another part of her mind was saying, Sarah's your friend. Concentrate. You can do it. Then there was a conversation between the two parts of her mind.  
  
"Don't do it. Why should you do it? What's Sarah ever done for you?" "She's been the best friend I've ever had." "But the topa's been your friend longer." "Who cares? Sarah's been the better friend."  
  
"Concentrate," James was saying. "Concentrate."  
  
Go away, topa, she thought. Go away. GO away. GO Away. GO AWay. GO AWAy. GO AWAY. die. Die. DIe. DIE.  
  
"DIE, TOPA!" she yelled. The vine let go of Sarah. The breeze was gone. All that was left was a picture of a monster on a piece of paper. Cecile lifted her foot and stomped on the piece of paper. "And don't come back," she declared.  
  
James, Sarah, and Henri cheered and rode back home. They were happy that Cecile could come back. As they rode, Cecile told them the story about how that particular topa came to be.  
  
"I loved to draw when I was really little. Then my parents died in the boat accident. Henri's dad saved me and took me in. Henri and I used to draw pictures together. Then he and his parents left for America. Nobody liked me after that. So I made up a friend. She was really nice to me and everyone around me. Then she started to get harder to control. She finally forced me out of the print shop and left me to stay in this field, and whenever anyone came around me, she would attack them. She used to be really nice. I don't know why or how she became so cruel.  
  
"How's your arm, by the way? Is it feeling better?" she asked James. He nodded. "Much. But why didn't you tell us about this earlier?" "Well, I couldn't tell you without you getting hurt. I just decided to keep it a secret." "But it's okay now." "Yeah, I guess," she said, and without warning, she drooped over and slid off of Soot. James stopped and picked her up.  
  
"Poor kid, the topa's tired her out," he said. He placed her on top of Blaze and clasped Soot's rope. He led Soot home while Sarah held Cecile and rode Blaze home.  
  
A couple of minutes later, the four of them were home. Sarah got off Blaze and then picked the sleeping Cecile off of Blaze. She carried Cecile to her room and laid her on the bed. She put the covers over the young girl and wrote a letter.  
  
Dearest Mother,  
  
America is turning out to be much better than I thought it would be. However, my friend Cecile has just been in the biggest predicament in her life. It turns out that she had telekinetic powers, which means she could move things with her mind. She also created a topa, which is similar to an imaginary friend. The topa was taking over her life and she couldn't control it. Finally, when a vine was pulling me towards a tree (I think it wanted the tree to kill me), she had enough courage to kill the topa. But when the topa was killed, she lost all of her telekinetic powers. Now she has to physically move things. It sounds like she'll get exhausted a lot faster.  
  
Your loyal, loving daughter,  
  
Sarah  
  
She then wrote another letter to another friend of hers.  
  
Dear Mrs. Adams,  
  
How have you been doing? It's been a long time since we last cast eyes on each other.  
Cecile has just been in the biggest predicament in her life. It turns out that she had telekinetic powers, which means she could move things with her mind. She also created a topa, which is similar to an imaginary friend. The topa was taking over her life and she couldn't control it. Finally, when a vine was pulling me towards a tree (I think it wanted the tree to kill me), she had enough courage to kill the topa. But when the topa was killed, she lost all of her telekinetic powers. Now she has to physically move things. It sounds like she'll get exhausted a lot faster now that she has to do the chores without using her mind!  
  
Your true friend,  
  
Sarah  
  
Sarah heard a small moan. She turned around and found Cecile twitching. Cecile finally woke up and sat up in bed. "Sarah?" she said weakly. "What happened? I feel like I got hit by a carriage." "Cecile! You're all right!" Sarah said as she hugged the little girl. "Do you remember ever having telekinetic powers?" Cecile nodded. "I still have them." "No, you don't," Sarah said. "You lost them after you destroyed the topa." "I destroyed the topa? I couldn't have." "But you did. You saved my life." Sarah hugged Cecile again. "I can't believe it," Cecile said hoarsely. "I destroyed the topa." "But your powers got destroyed with it," Sarah said sadly. "Oh, well. It's not like I was using them anyway." Cecile got out of bed with Sarah's help, and together they walked down the hall and down the stairs to the main room. She saw James and Henri, and they never looked so happy. Sarah eased Cecile down in the armchair, and then sat in the one next to her.  
  
"You're all right!" the boys said happily. "She doesn't look all right," Henri said. "You're right. She's pale, and she's shaking. Is she really all right?" James asked Sarah. "She is okay. She just needs a little more rest. She's still suffering from a little trauma. She didn't even know that she got rid of the topa, and she still thought she had telekinetic powers." "What she really needs is bed rest," James agreed. "Let's put her back in bed and wait until she's fully recovered."  
  
So Sarah helped her back up the stairs and put her in bed. She woke up a few hours later feeling much better. She went back down the stairs without Sarah's help and then realized something. Nobody was upstairs or in the main room. She looked everywhere and finally found them in the kitchen having lunch. "Come here and sit down," Sarah said gently. She made a sandwich for herself and finally sat down.  
  
"We're really sorry you had to spend your birthday like this," Henri said sympathetically. It was her birthday?! She completely forgot. Dumb topa, it made her forget her own birthday. "Yup," Sarah and James agreed. "We really are."  
  
"It's okay. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the topa earlier. I just didn't want you to get hurt." "Well, you're not about to get hurt again, are you? We've got something for you," James added as he took a white box out of his pocket and handed it to her. She read the note on top.  
  
"Happy birthday, Cecile! Henri kept this from you, too. But we hope you like it anyway.  
  
Your everlasting friends, Sarah, James, and Henri"  
  
"Hmmm, I wonder who wrote this note?" she teased. Everyone knew that James always signed his letters the same way. "Your everlasting friend, James." Everyone laughed and James said, "Just open the present," with an apologetic grin.  
  
She took the lid off of the box and gasped. There was a heart-shaped locket that perfectly fit inside the box. "It's the kind of locket you hold with you, not the kind you put on a necklace," Sarah explained. Cecile pushed the button on top of the locket and gasped when she read what was engraved.  
  
"Dear Cecile,  
Have a great 13th birthday. We love you.  
  
Love,  
  
Mother and Father"  
  
She looked up and almost cried. She gave everyone a huge hug. She asked Henri, "How did you find it?" "I found it under a bunch of ashes," Henri said. "A bunch of ashes? I thought your parents died in a boat accident," Sarah said. "They did. But when word got out that they died, the King gave them permission to burn down my house," Cecile explained sadly. "Them?" "Our neighbors. They hated my parents. Nobody ever liked us until I met you three."  
  
Henri put a hand on her shoulder. "The first person who ever did like her was me."  
  
END CHAPTER 13  
  
Awww. That was so nice! But it was so weird! And so sad! Anyways, you know the drill. Please review so you can get chapter 14!!!! 


	14. Goodbye For Now

I'm being generous, so I'll give you guys chapter 14. I hope you'll review. And just between you and me, I'm making a sequel! You're going to love it, I know it. It's really funny.

Ok, maybe it's not a sequel, but it's "another adventure with the same characters". LOL. Anyways, I'm gonna write this fanfic just to make you happy. I'm really that bored, yes.

GASP! I just figured out that Abigail and John Adams's 4th child died when she was 2! :( Poor Susanna! LOL. Don't you cry for me...blah blah blah...

A/N After the first couple of times, I'm going to call John Quincy "John Quincy". But for the rest of the time (namely after he understands that he said he loved to eat poison, not fish), I'll just call him "John" because his dad's away on "political business".

Oh yeah, I think I might put some lyrics from my favorite song!!!! I'll tell you what it is at the end of the chapter. The lyrics will be in bold italics.

Sadly, I wanted to surprise you by saying that this will be the last chapter of Secrets. The good news is that the adventures will continue in the sequel, which will be called "Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow".

Chapter 14: Goodbye For Now

"What?!?" "Cool!" "Why?"

These were the reactions to the words that ebbed from Sarah's mouth. The first was James's, the second Cecile's, and the third Henri's.

"She wants to see us, that's why," Sarah said bossily. "Wow. I only spoke to her through letters. I didn't think I was actually going to meet her!" Cecile said. "But why do _we_ have to go?" James asked, pointing to himself and Henri. "Like I said, she wants so see us. And she wants to make sure Cecile's all right. I told her about the topa."

"Uh...ok," James said. "She said she wanted us to leave tomorrow in order to be there by Friday." "But today is Friday," Henri said. "Henri, she means next Friday."

The next day, the four of them loaded the carriage and got ready to go. They arrived at the Adams's house on Friday, as was planned. Sarah embraced her long-time friend, Abigail.

"What's happening, Mother?" John Quincy asked as he came down the stairs. Then he saw everyone else. "Hi, Sarah!" he said cheerfully. "Everyone, they're here!" he called up the stairs. All of the children, including little Abby, scuttled down the stairs, eager to see Sarah again. "Hi Sarah!" they all said. Sarah smiled at them.

"Wonderful to see you again, Sarah," Mrs. Adams said happily. "I'm guessing these are the friends you mentioned in your last letter?" Sarah nodded. "Hello Henri, nice to see you again," said Mrs. Adams. Henri smiled and said a short hello.

"And who are your other friends?" she asked. "Oh, this is James," Sarah said as she pointed to James. "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Adams," James said quickly. Mrs. Adams smiled. "So you must be Cecile," she said, turning to Cecile. Cecile instantly became shy and said, "Yes, ma'am." "Please," Abigail said. "Call me Mrs. Adams." Cecile gave a small smile. "Okay," she said.

To James and Cecile she said, "These are my children, John Quincy, Abby, Thomas, and Charles." They gave each other a nice hello and then Mrs. Adams asked Abby and John Quincy to show everyone their rooms.

"You'll have the usual room, Sarah," Abby said as all of the kids walked up the stairs. She led Sarah down the upstairs hall and to the end of it, where Sarah's guest room was. Abby then showed Cecile into the room next to Sarah, while John Quincy showed Henri and James the two rooms across the hall from the girls. There seemed to be a dreamy glint in John Quincy's eyes when Cecile came back out to look around the Adams's house. She was amazed by everything and everyone around her.

After everyone was settled in, Sarah and James went to help out Mrs. Adams around the house while the children stayed upstairs and played. It sounded like some of the kids were skeptical about John Quincy.

"Say something in French," Thomas said. "Go on, go on!" "Say..." Charles said. "Say, 'I love to eat fish.'" "All right then," John Quincy said. "'J'ai manger poison.'" Now Thomas and Charles, both being younger than John Quincy, didn't know any better about what he had said. But Henri and Cecile had their wits about them, and Henri started laughing so hard that Cecile had to nudge him in the side with her elbow to actually get him to stop.

"What's he laughing about?" John Quincy asked Cecile, the dreamy glint back in his eyes. "He's laughing because---oh, be quiet Henri---. He's laughing because you said you love to eat poison," she explained. "No, I didn't!" John Quincy protested. Cecile nodded. "Poison in French is poison in English. Poisson is fish." All John Quincy could say was, "Oh." The rest of the children understood and started giggling as well.

"You know what your problem is?" John asked. "You know too much for a girl." "And you don't know how to have fun," Cecile retorted. "Henri can show you how to have lots of fun. Like flying kites and riding horses." "Oh, and you know how to have fun?" John said skeptically. "Actually, I do," Cecile said. "Prove it!" "Henri," she called, "Pass me your yo-yo for a sec." Henri took the yo-yo out of his pocket and tossed it to her. "You might want to come outside to do this. I don't want you to get hurt."

All of the Adams children and Henri followed her down the stairs and outside. She showed them a few tricks she could do with a yo-yo, like around-the-world and walk-the-dog.

"Cecile?" Sarah called. "I could really use your help in the kitchen." "I'll be right down!" Cecile called. She took off her ring, put it in her pocket, and said, "I'll see you later." She tossed the yo-yo back to Henri and ran towards the door. John followed her, stopping at the doorway and admiring her from a distance. Everyone except for Henri laughed and said, "John Quincy's in loooooooove!" "I am not!" he contradicted. "You have no proof!"

"Something wrong?" Sarah asked Cecile while they made supper. "Well, kind of. Have you ever seen John act like that?" "Like what?" "Well, kind of like how I felt when I came here from France." "You mean that dreamy look on your face like you were waiting for Henri to kiss you?" "_Sarah_!" "What? It's true." "She's right," James piped up. Cecile gave James a How-would-you-know look. He gave her a Because-I-was-there-don't-you-remember look.

That night, James went up the stairs after supper to find Henri pacing in the hallway. "So this is what you've been doing that actually made you not hungry," he said, grinning. "What's going on with you?" "I don't know. When we were outside playing with my yo-yo, and Sarah called Cecile in, John just followed her and stopped at the doorway. I know those moves. He's definitely in love with Cecile."

"That's really tough," James said. "What am I going to do?" Henri said. "Just watch Cecile. Besides, she even said she loved you. Why would she dump you for a guy she just met?" "Well, I guess that's true."

Little did he know Cecile was feeling the same way.

Finally, Henri had enough courage to knock on Cecile's door. "Can I come in? I have something to tell you," he said. "Yeah, I heard you pacing the halls." She opened the door wide enough for him to come inside. "Come in," she said.

"I know what you're thinking." "It's the best friend telepathy, isn't it?" he asked. She nodded. "I don't know what to do either."

**_Well, I couldn't tell you  
Why she felt that way  
She felt it everyday  
And I couldn't help her  
I just watched her make  
The same mistakes again_**

Henri sat down on her bed and they both lied down on top of it. Cecile put her head on Henri's outstretched arm. He felt warm tears wetting his sleeve.  
  
**_What's wrong, What's wrong now?  
Too many, too many problems  
Don't know where she belongs  
Where she belongs_**

Cecile sat up. "I miss my mom and dad," she said. "I can't stand not having parents."  
  
**_She wants to go home  
But nobody's home  
That's where she lies  
Broken inside  
There's no place to go  
No place to go  
To dry her eyes  
Broken inside_**

"Shh.." Henri said. "That boat accident must cause a lot of pain, huh?" Cecile nodded. "Now, I'm kind of glad I came to America."

**_Open your eyes  
And look outside  
Find the reasons why  
You've been rejected  
And now you can't find  
What you've left behind_**

"It's been really hard, not having parents for 9 years. You've had parents two more years than I had." "It's going to be alright. Trust me."

**_Be strong, be strong now  
Too many, too many problems  
Don't know where she belongs  
Where she belongs_**

"Yeah, I know. I have to be strong." More tears streamed down her face.  
  
**_She wants to go home  
But nobody's home  
That's where she lies  
Broken inside  
There's no place to go  
No place to go  
To dry her eyes  
Broken inside_**

"You're hiding something from me." "Friendly telepathy?" "Yup." "I think I've lost all hope."

**_Her feelings she hides  
Her dreams she can't find  
She's losing her mind  
She's falling behind  
She can't find her place  
She's losing her faith  
She's falling from grace  
She's all over the place, yeah_**

Henri put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll all miss you if you end up leaving us. But where would you go?"

**_She wants to go home  
But nobody's home  
That's where she lies  
Broken inside  
There's no place to go  
No place to go  
To dry her eyes  
Broken inside_**

"I don't know. I just don't know."

**_She's lost inside  
Lost inside, oh ohhh   
She's lost inside  
Lost inside, oh ohhh yeah_**

"Just sleep on it. You'll feel better in the morning. I guarantee it," Henri assured her. "Maybe you're right." Henri sat up. "Good night. See you in the morning." Their faces leaned closer to each other. They were an inch from each other when James said, "Henri! Where's the toothpaste?!" They moved away from each other and turned towards the door...where they found John in the doorway. "John! What are you doing here?" they asked. He said nothing, but turned and ran back to his room. "You go help James. I'll go talk to him."

"John? It's me," Cecile said as she knocked on the door. "Please let me come in." The door clicked and John cracked the door open. "What do you want?" he asked. "To talk to you." He opened the door. "What?" he said. "You've already done enough damage." "I have to tell you something," she said. "The only reason you saw that was because Henri accidentally left the door open. Anyway, I wanted to say that he's only been my really good friend. Since I was 4." "Why? What happened?" "My parents died, and his dad rescued me." "That's too bad." "It's that obvious you like me. It's just...me and Henri have been friends longer." "Oh." "But that doesn't mean we can't be friends. Here...is the address to the print shop. You can write to me." "How do I know you just won't dump them?" "I'm not heartless. Friends?" Cecile streched out her hand. "Friends," John said. He shook her hand. "Hey Cecile! I found the toothpaste!" Henri said. "Where was it?" she asked. "On the top shelf of the medicine cabinet." "Nice sleuthing. You tracked down the toothpaste." She turned to John. "Good night, John." "Good night."

"What was that all about?" "I said we could be friends. He looked kind of happy about it. Well, here's to make up for the toothpaste incident." She grabbed his hand and led him into her room, making sure to close the door. "The toothpaste incident?" Henri asked quizzically. "Yeah, when James called you to help him find the toothpaste. Remember?" "Yeah. It just happened, what, 3 minutes ago?"

They looked at each other for about a minute. "Well, um, good night," Henri said and got up to leave. He opened the door, but Cecile got up and caught him by the hand. Henri turned around. "What?" he asked. "I think you deserve a thank you for consoling me. Here's one feeling I _don't_ hide." Once again, they looked at each other for a minute. Their faces inched closer to each other.

Sarah and James were watching the whole thing outside the door. Henri forgot to close it...again. "You think they will?" Sarah asked. "Please," James said. "They did it in Chickasaw Bluffs behind the back of a bunch of Redcoats. I really don't think they care where they are." "Really?" Sarah asked. "And you neglected to tell me this...why?" "Shh," James said. "If you don't be quiet they're going to know we're here!" So they were both silent as they watched the two children move closer to each other, unsuspecting the two teenagers outside the door.

Henri and Cecile were still moving closer to each other. But then they stopped for some reason. It all happened so quickly. First they were just still as statues. Then, Cecile could feel Henri holding her hands. She reached up and kissed him. Although neither of them expected it, neither of them wanted to break away.

_Hmmmm_, Cecile was thinking. _Never expected this._ So she just smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Although James wasn't into this kind of thing (just like any other teenage boy), he couldn't help but watch and smile. He wrapped an arm around Sarah's shoulder. She smiled, and, on impulse, gave him a strong hug. "What was that for?" he asked playfully. "That was your 'suffering at the hands of the British'," she flirted. "I never thought I'd see the day when I'd be saying this, but, Sarah, gove me more suffering." "All right, then. How much suffering would you like?" "As much as you can give." "All right, but it'll cost you!" she flirted, and she reached up to put her lips in contact with his. "When's the last time we did that?" James asked. "A long time ago. Probably last year." "James, be quiet," Sarah said and reached up for another kiss.

After Henri and Cecile had broken away from what seemed to be the kiss of a lifetime, Henri said, "You know, I hardly ask you for anything." "And let's keep it that way!" Cecile said playfully. "No, really," he said seriously. "What are you playing at?" she asked him cautiously. "You'll see in time," he replied slyly. Cecile laughed and shook her head. "Henri, sometimes you can be the silliest boy on Earth," she said. "Good night." "Good night," he said, and left the room.

"Good night, Sarah," James said as he closed the door to his room. "Good night, James," Sarah said after a kiss on his forehead.

As James lay in bed that night, he started to think, which was something he seldom did. He thought about how he was blessed with two friends, and how it was a miracle for him to get landed with one of the most beautiful girls in Pennsylvania, no, the United States of America.

Wait a minute. What was he _thinking_? Was he insane? She's a _Tory_! And from a high-class family, he might add. But maybe he wasn't insane. She even said she was a Patriot on that ship to New York, and she said she was an American. He was blowing the whole thing way out of proportion. He loved her, and she loved him.

And that was that.

As not-so-little-anymore Henri LeFebvre pulled his covers over himself, he wondered whether he was in denial, or whether he was truly in love. Was she just a friend? Or something more? Did those hugs and kisses mean anything? Was she just his "partner in crime"? How could he tell what it was?

Then it came to him. It was like his heart sent a message to his brain.

There was no denying it. He did love Cecile DuMont as more than a friend.

Cecile's long ebony locks blocked her back from view as she kneeled on the floor beside her bed and said her prayers.

"Dear God. Thank you for giving me such good friends in America when I couldn't find any in France. Thank you for Sarah, and James as well. They've been more than friends to me. They've been my family.

"And thank you, God, for finally telling my heart that I am, without a doubt, in love with Henri LeFebvre."

As Sarah sat in front of her mirror, brush in hand, she started to think, which was something she and most other girls often did. Did she really love James Hiller? Or was he just a very good friend? Did he love her back?

No, she told herself. She was going insane.

But did she? Did that kiss mean anything? _Maybe I should just sleep on it. I'll figure something out sooner or later._ She put the brush down and kept her ginger tresses down. She got in bed and pulled the covers over herself. She had made a final decision.

She was, indeed, in love with James Hiller.

* * *

I really didn't want this fic to end. I'm sure none of you did. But trust me, the sequel will be so much better, I promise. Get your reviews in now, because it's the very last time I'll be reading them. Oh, yeah, review my other story, "The Teenage Braniac vs. Time Travel". That one's not done yet!!! 

Love you all, and thanks for the reviews.  
Sahar

P.S. The next chapter will be completely made up of credits!! LOL It'll be some time before I get them all done because I have to get all the voices, and the producers. It'll be like the credits at the ending of Liberty's Kids.

P.P.S. The song was "Nobody's Home" by Avril Lavigne. I just love that song.


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